


Bona Fide Villain?

by mar (gloomyghost)



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Has A Palace, Akechi Goro Redemption, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Suicide, akechi has ptsd and bpd, futaba and akechi are half siblings, trans akechi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2020-06-26 03:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 36,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19759231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gloomyghost/pseuds/mar
Summary: He saw how the Phantom Thieves fought, by removing their mask. How fitting for them, to fight by being so open and honest. Is that how they got their personas too?Akechi had just left his on.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so this is kind of a remake of my earlier fic "a murder of one" but i actually have like. a plan this time. wow.  
> comments are appreciated!

****** Akechi was sitting on a slightly uncomfortable tweed chair, nervously fidgeting with an action figure in his hands, moving the plastic arm up and down. The blue paint was beginning to wear and chip around the shoulder joint. This didn’t bother him however, all of his Featherman figures showed many signs of constant love and play.

“Akechi-san.” The stuffy older man sitting across the table said, his tone serious. ****** Akechi kept his head down. He knew that he’s not speaking to him, but instead speaking to his mother, the woman sitting next to him. He could feel the stress radiating off of her.

“I believe that your daughter-” He twisted the figure’s arm farther. “-has a mood disorder. However, at this age, it can be hard to make an accurate diagnosis.”

Akechi didn’t really know what the specifics of what that means, but he gets the idea. His mother already was having trouble dealing with an unwanted child on her own, and things were now worse. She didn’t just have to deal with an unwanted child, she had to deal with a  _ sick _ child. As if he hadn’t ruined her life enough. Only seven years old, and he already wanted to leave this world. Wouldn’t it make things better for everyone?

His mother puts a hand over her mouth, looking shocked and upset. The rest of the appointment goes by in a blur. There are tears, there’s panicked talking, and it ends with his mother returning to her blank expression.

Somehow that was worse than her crying one.

His mother rushed to her room when they got back to their home. Akechi didn’t try to talk to her. There was nothing to say. He wanted to run to his room too, but that wouldn’t do, would it? No, he had to do something for her. To make himself useful. Maybe she would be happy with him? He’d clean the house, make it spotless for her. The last time he did that, she had gently pat his head and said that she loved him. It had felt… nice.

It seemed, to him at least, like it was the only time he had ever been loved. Perhaps the only time he would ever be. He wanted to feel that love as much as he could. So, he reached under the kitchen sink, and pulled out a spray bottle and a tattered rag. He would make the house sparkle.

He cleaned and cleaned until his head spun from the chemical scent, and his arms went numb from the repeated motion of scrubbing. But, the house did look a lot nicer. It felt nice to make something better for a change. He had done this! It was nice to have an effect on the things around him.

He returned the cleaner and rag to their place under the sink, and opened up a window, trying to let the room air out. He could already feel his head clearing a bit as fresh air made its way in. He took several deep breaths as he released his hair from the pigtails his mother had done this morning. He didn’t know why she insisted on putting his hair up, or choosing his clothes. She always got so upset when he tried to pick things out for himself, or speak his mind. So, he learned to stop doing that, and started to act differently, to make her happy.

He put on a mask.

That phrase ringing in his mind made him flinch, and he held himself to try and stop his sudden shaking. Why did that phrase have such an effect on him? A mask that he puts on to make others happy… So, he was like a featherman! So, that should make him happy, not scared and sad. It should… Why didn’t it?

The cleaning was done, so he let his feet carry him to his room as his mind wandered off somewhere else. He needed something to focus on, to take away his worry. Reading would help point his focus towards something!

He found the tattered book right where he had left it, on the floor of his closet. For some reason, his mother didn’t like him owning this book.

“Please… Don’t enjoy what  _ he _ liked.” She had said, looking fragile and scared. He didn’t know who she was talking about, but he really loved this book! He didn’t want to get rid of it.

He sat on his bed, opening the book on the page where he had left off. He loved reading about mysteries and detectives, especially this book! He wanted to be just like the main character, Kogoro Akechi. A genius detective who solved difficult cases and stopped the bad guys! They even had the same exact last name. ****** Akechi didn’t like his own first name, it sounded too feminine. If he could pick his own name, he’d want it to be Kogoro, or at least something similar! Maybe a bit different, it’d be a little embarrassing for people to know that he named himself after a character from a book.

Sunlight streamed in through his windows, and as he looked out of his bedroom doorway, he saw how clean he had made the rest of the house. He looked down to his hands and saw his favorite book. Right now, things were good. 

Despite everything, in this moment, Akechi was happy. He just prayed it would last.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey hey hey just a content warning! this chapter contains suicide. i made sure to make it so you can skip this chapter without missing too much if that's a problem for you!  
> thanks for all the support on the last chapter, reading your comments brought me so much joy!!

Three weeks had passed since the therapy appointment, and Akechi’s mother seemed to be getting worse every day. ****** Akechi kept trying to be smaller, quieter, less bothersome. Anything to help, to be less of a stressor for her. He made his own meals, walked himself to school, just stayed out of the way.

It didn’t seem to be helping.

He walks into his home, his Feathermen backpack on his shoulders. He kicks off his little red sneakers and sets his bag down.

“I’m home.” He says quietly, to no one. He’s sure his mother is home, but he doesn’t want to say it loud enough to bother her. She’s probably in her room, crying. He should just get started on making something for a snack. He grabs an apple from the pantry, and a knife from the drawer.

His hand slips, and the knife scrapes against his finger. After a moment, the pain comes, and blood comes soon after. He squeaks and holds his hand, shaking with fear and disgust. He hated blood.

Where were the bandaids? He needed one right now…

Right! They were in his mother’s bathroom, under the sink. They had a small first aid kit there. He qucikly makes his way to his mother’s bedroom.

“Mom! Can I come in?”

No response. Maybe she was asleep.

“...I’m gonna come in now.”

He opens the door, and finds that her bathroom door is open and the light is on. The room has a strange smell that makes his breathing quicken from fear. It smells a little like blood. Is it his finger? No, it wouldn’t smell this much like blood, would it? Surely it wouldn’t...

He leans his head into the bathroom, and then jumps back with a scream.

Blood. The bathtub was full of blood. His mom was in it, still in her clothes, with her eyes closed and her skin so very pale. Was she okay? She didn’t seem okay…

He takes a deep breath, then another, and he slowly walks back in. He walks to the bathtub, shaking uncontrollably, and gently shakes her arm.

“Mom…? Mom get up please…”

He sees a paper on the floor by her. The handwriting is mostly too shaky to be legible, except for a name that’s scratched in so hard that it seems like the paper is about to tear.

_ Masayoshi Shido. _

Her phone was on the nearby counter. He reached out for it, he had to call the police, they’d help! As he touched the screen, he saw a red eye logo just for a moment, and then he blacked out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're gettin to the good stuff now folks. also thank you all for this continued support! i hope you all enjoy this!  
> comments and feedback are appreciated! thank you all again ♡♡♡

He awoke in a prison cell, with blue, soft looking walls. He was lying on an uncomfortable and thin mattress.

“Where…”

“We cannot speak long. Keep your mother’s phone. I have placed an app on there for you.” A deep voice rang out, and Akechi looked in the direction of it. He saw a strange man with a long nose staring at him with wide eyes. Akechi moved back a bit.

“Where am I? Where’s mom?”

“I am sending you back now. We shall speak again soon, trickster.”

And with that, the prison made of blue velvet started to melt and fade away, leaving him back in his mother’s bathroom, on the floor. The cut on his finger had begun to turn into a scab. He felt confused and scared, but knew that whatever just happened wasn’t the most important thing right now. What was important right now was getting his mother some help. So, he grabbed the phone and called the police.

The following hours were a storm of different people all saying similar things, and an intense feeling of dread. After a while, some people in black suits came into his room, where he was sitting on the bed, staring at the wall blankly.

“******-chan, we reviewed the note that your mother left.”

_ Masayoshi Shido Masayoshi Shido Masayoshi Shido Masayoshi Shido Masayoshi- _

“We believe it was a case of… maternity neurosis.”

He didn’t know what that meant. He wasn’t sure it was even a thing.

“It seems like you caused your mother quite a bit of trouble…”

Shut up shut up shut up…

“The note was mainly about you.”

It wasn’t. They were liars. He couldn’t trust adults. The person of blame was scrawled into the page, he saw it. Masayoshi Shido.

“I understand.” Akechi said, trying to not spit out the words like they were poison burning his mouth.

“We’ll try to get in contact with relatives for now. We’re sorry for your loss.”

_ Shut up. Don’t lie to me. Shut up shut up shut up. _

“Would you happen to know where your mother’s phone is?”

“No.” The lie came so easily, which was surprising to him. He was usually horrible at lying. He touched the phone in his pocket. He wanted to be anywhere else in the world right now. The men in black suits soon left, and Akechi pulled the phone out, looking at the strange red logo that he had seen before he had passed out. What was this app? It looked like some sort of navigation system.

The search bar had a suggestion, and recent searches. He hadn’t searched for anything on this, had he? ‘Mementos’ was suggested. What was that? He tapped on it and a new bar appeared.

_ Please enter a name. _

A name? He didn’t want to put in his own. His mom told him not to share his real name with strangers online. His… mom… The grief was hitting him in waves.

There was one name on his mind right now, a person he’d like to know more about.

He typed Masayoshi Shido, and an error message appeared.

_ [Masayoshi Shido] has a palace, and cannot be found in Mementos. _

What did that mean? A palace? Was this Masayoshi Shido some kind of royalty? He then noticed a small question mark icon along the toolbar. He tapped on it, and found a sort of tutorial on how to use the app. He started to look it over, and his eyes widened slightly.

He would have some reading to do.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the bit of the hiatus between this chapter and the last! i was busy. but hey i get to use goro's name now hooray  
> hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Mementos was a place made by everyone’s cognitions. It was a place for people with distorted and corrupted desires and hearts, but not completely corrupted. The completely corrupted get something called a palace. You will see cognitive versions of people there, but the real person won’t know that you talked to their cognition.

The cognitive version of the corrupted person is a shadow, and if you get rid of them, the real person will change! At least, that’s what the app said.

As happy as he should feel to be able to be a hero, to change the bad guys, he couldn’t help but feel sad and bitter. If he had only found this earlier… He could’ve gotten rid of his mother’s desire to die, right? He could have saved her. But it was too late now.

He had checked through the search history, though he was still confused by it. Had his mother used this app before he did? Many of the searches were failed searches for a palace for Masayoshi Shido. Apparently a palace required a name, location, and what they viewed that location as. His mother had tried so many things…

Masayoshi Shido had a corrupted heart. He was a villain. There was no doubt that he was the one at fault for his mother’s suicide. His mind was racing as he tried to figure out how to get to this palace, find out the correct location and keywords, to change Masayoshi Shido.

Today had been completely exhausting, and he felt himself starting to drift off, even as he read the help section of the app. ****** slipped the phone into his pocket, and soon nodded off, not even lying down.

He woke up again in that velvety cell, on the uncomfortable matress. He realized that he was wearing a striped prisoner’s outfit, was he wearing this last time? He didn’t even notice. That strange long nosed man was there again, sitting at his desk.

“Hello trickster.”

“Um… Hello…” His voice trailed off, he didn’t know this man’s name. Why did he keep calling him trickster? What a weird dream…

“I am Igor.” It was as if he could tell that Akechi was wondering what his name was. “Welcome to my Velvet Room.”

“Mr. Igor? Why am I here?”

“Because you have found the Metaverse Navigator. You have a special potential that not everyone has, Goro Akechi.”

His eyes widened. Goro? Like Kogoro? He had dreamt about that being his name before, it was always nice to hear that be his name in a dream. It was still a little surprising though. It felt like this man could see the real him, rather than the mask he put on.

_ Mask… _

Again, that word triggered a strange response in him. Why did that word feel so… important? He touched his face suddenly, as if he expected something odd to be there. Nothing.

“Hm. It seems you are close to awakening the true power that sleeps within you, but you are not yet there. Don’t force it.”

“True power…?”

“You will understand soon enough, I’m sure. When you awaken that power, we will speak again, and discuss what to do moving forward.”

“O-Okay.” He didn’t understand at all, but he didn’t really know what else to say.

“Now then, go back to sleep. We shall speak again.”

And with that, Goro Akechi woke up.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello! here's the new chapter!  
> so, fun fact, i have a playlist of songs that remind me of akechi that i listen to while i work on this fic  
> if u wanna hear it, it's here  
> https://open.spotify.com/user/marmarr77/playlist/0HNjcV675Yfg6mshgcfuN8?si=083HE61WR8-7cMW2PIo-1g
> 
> i know i always say this, but thank you all for the support! it really makes me happy to see so many people enjoying this fic.

Goro Akechi was sitting in a car that smelled like smoke and cheap perfume, a small red backpack sitting on his lap. It held some precious possessions, things that he wanted to have easy access to. Everything else was in the suitcase in the car’s trunk.

“I really think you’re gonna like your new school, ******.” The woman in the driver’s seat speaks suddenly, breaking the silence. This woman was Akechi’s aunt, his mother’s sister. He had never met her before, but he would be living with her from now on.

“Goro.” He corrects in a small voice.

“Hm?”

“Everyone usually calls me Goro. Not ******.” It was a lie, but she didn’t know that. Maybe now people could finally start to call him a name that didn’t make him shudder.

“Oh don’t be silly, that’s a boy’s name!” His aunt laughs. “It doesn’t even sound anything like ******!”

Akechi goes quiet and looks down at his backpack, not wanting to talk anymore. He wondered why he wasn’t going to live with his dad. But then again, it’s not like he knew him either. The only thing he knew about his father was that his mother didn’t like to talk about him, so he didn’t ask about him. But, surely his mother’s sister would know who his father was, right? Maybe he could ask. He wanted to know more about his family, to find more family that loved and cared about him, to fill the hole in his heart.

They soon pull to a stop in a driveway, presumably his aunt’s home. Akechi unbuckles his seat belt and leaves the car, making sure to grab his backpack.

He looks to his aunt, suddenly feeling nervous about asking. What if she got upset like his mother would whenever he asked? What if it made her sad? He saw the disasterous consequences that sadness could have on someone.

“Do you know who my father is?” He asls, his voice quick, as if he was trying to get the words out before he could stop himself. His aunt’s face changes instantly, to one of pain and anger, but not directed at Akechi.

“******, can we talk about this later?”

It was a response his mother often gave when he asked. He knew that it was just a way to end the conversation, not actually a commitment to talking about it later.

“But, I want to know!” He says it without thinking. Usually he would just drop the subject, but right now, he just couldn’t.

“******, stop.”

“Goro.” He corrects again. “I want to be called Goro.”

She rolls her eyes, as if he was asking for the silliest thing in the world. “Just head inside and unpack your stuff, okay?”

He sighs and grabs his suitcase, realizing this isn’t an argument he’s going to win. He heads inside, and his aunt follows behind.

“Can I ask you something else?” He asks.

“You just did. But, go ahead. What’s up?”

“Do you know who Masayoshi Shido is?”

She inhales sharply. “He’s… he’s a bad person. Why?”

“I… I heard mom mention his name.” Another lie. He was telling a lot of those lately, and he didn’t feel good about it.

His aunt looks so upset and pale, shaking her head. “Yeah. She probably did mention him. God, if he wasn’t around…”

“Mom would still be alive?” He finishes.

“I don’t know. Probably.” She clenches her teeth and blinks quickly, trying to drive away her tears at the thought of her sister. “Sorry ******-” She sees the look on his face, and stops. It’s as if it finally clicks in her head, that her calling him that is upsetting him, and that Goro isn’t just a silly nickname. “-Goro. I shouldn’t be crying right now. C’mon, I’ll help you unpack.”

“Okay.” He wants to ask more, to know more, but the sadness in his aunt’s eyes scared him. He didn’t want her to be sad. He didn’t want her to end up like his mother. She pats his head and walks him to his room.


	6. Chapter 6

Akechi is sitting on his new bed. He doesn’t like how it feels, he misses his old bed, his old room, his old life. He can’t get used to this place, even though he’s now lived for about a month.

He can’t get his aunt’s sad eyes out of his mind. He can’t get the fear out of his heart. What if his aunt was driven to suicide due to her despair? She always looked so sad, and seemed to have trouble focusing on things. She was dealing with so much sadness and grief. Sure, Akechi was too, but that didn’t matter to him.

If only he could fix things, make her happy. If he could somehow change her heart…

_ Change her heart _ … _? _

Right! The phone! He could use that weird app to change hearts, couldn’t he? He could fix everything!

He pulled the phone out of his backpack and brought up the Metaverse Navigator app. He typed in his aunt’s name, and the location as Mementos, and pressed search.

The world around him twisted into blurry red swirls, making him feel dizzy. He rubbed his eyes, and when he finished, he saw that the world around him had changed. He was sitting on a concrete staircase that went down into a subway system. The lights were strange, and the atmosphere made him feel very anxious.

His phone beeped, causing him to squeak and drop it. He picked it back up and saw a red dot on a map. It was leading him to his aunt’s shadow’s location, and this was Mementos! He just had to find the shadow and defeat it, and then his aunt would be happy. He was so excited, he was going to be a hero.

He wandered deeper into the subway system, walking along the tracks. He would occasionally hear footsteps and frightening sounds, always far away sounds that he could never see the source of. So, he’d hide and wait for silence to return, before going back to following the map on his phone. When he reached the destination, he looked up to see a red and black swirl that the tracks twisted and distorted around. Was this his aunt’s shadow? It didn’t look like her at all, or even like a person’s shadow. He nervously reached out his hand and touched the spiral, only to be shocked to find that his hand went inside of it. There was no resistance, it was like it wasn’t even there.

He walked through the strange spiral and found himself in a small room, facing a shadowy figure with glowing yellow eyes. It looked like his aunt…

The figure fell to its knees and wailed in despair. “You look so much like her.” It shouted, its voice echoing. “I miss her. It’s my fault. Why didn’t I help her? Why why why? I should be dead! I wish that I could just die!”

Akechi wanted to back up, to run away from this screeching figure, but for some reason, he didn’t. He instead stepped forward, feeling a strange and sharp pain in his head as his eyes widened. He could hear someone speaking, as if they were right behind him.

_ “So, you’ve found your courage, at last.” _

He reached up and touched his face, only for his fingers to reach a hard plastic instead of skin.

_ “You, who wishes to be a hero loved by all, to help those who are hurting and scared, shall receive my power. Let us forge a contract.” _

He grit his teeth and clenched his hands into fists. He was in pain, he was scared, he wanted to see his mom, but none of that mattered right now.

_ “I am thou, thou art I. May you protect the weak and punish evil, young hero. Show the world your justice.” _

He found the edge of the mask on his face and began to tear it away with both hands, screaming from the pain. Blood clouded his vision, but he could still see the large figure in front of him, wearing white and wielding a bow.

“Let’s save her, Robin Hood!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiya! it's been a little while hasn't it? sorry for being inconsistent with updating this, i have a few other projects i'm working on. but, the largest of them is nearing its end, so hopefully i'll be able to update this more regularly in the future!  
> also if you're confused by the end of this chapter seeming to contradict the summary, just know, that situation comes up with a certain other persona...


	7. Chapter 7

The shadowy figure in front of him dissolved, and then showed a new form, a strange monster. But, even with its new form, it was hard to be okay hurting it.

Just take a deep breath, imagine it as everyone you hate. The monster is everyone who bullied him, the monster is the men who said his mom’s suicide was his fault.

_ The monster was Masayoshi Shido. _

Ah. There it was. It was easy now. He found a sword with a blade of light in his hand. He didn’t really care where it came from. He slashed the monster down and drove the bladde into its stomach. Over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over…

Part of his mind told him to stop, that the shadow could be considered defeated now, he should just let it leave. He didn’t listen. He had to defeat it, fully and completely. That was the only way to help, right? It had to die.

He didn’t stop until the shadow completely dissolved into the air. He panted and dropped his sword, feeling exhausted, but strong. He was strong. He beat the monster.

He pulled his phone out, and noticed that his clothes had changed. He looked down and stared at his new outfit. He looked like some sort of hero, or a prince. He liked it. He just hoped that he was able to help his aunt.

He tapped his phone, pressing the button that would let him go back home. The world blurred, and colors swirled together as he was brought back to the real world.

He found himself on his bed again. He felt so excited. His aunt was going to be happy! He jumped up out of bed and ran to his aunt’s room. The door was open, so he walked in. He wondered if it would happen right away, and how drastic the change would be. As long as she could smile and be happy, that would be enough.

His aunt was on her bed, and for a moment, Akechi just thought she was sleeping, and that he should leave her be for now. But, then he noticed how her eyes were rolled back, and how there was blood coming from her nose and mouth. Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong…

He shook her shoulder, and noticed the light rising and falling of her chest. She was breathing! She wasn’t dead! He could cry from the relief he felt in that moment.

He called an ambulance.

A few hours later he would learn that his aunt had just shut down, and that she probably wouldn’t be waking up.

Akechi got rid of his mother’s old phone immediately. He thought he was helping her. What did he do wrong? Whatever the case, he swore to himself that day, that he would never go back into the Metaverse. He would just try to be a normal kid, not a hero of any kind. Just someone who was nice, and got good grades, and was liked by those around them. He wouldn’t let anything bother him. Even though no one else was willing to take care of him, so he had to be brought to an institution, that was fine! Even if it felt like everyone around him was disappearing, he could handle that. He wouldn’t make a fuss about it or be a bother, he just wanted to be good, to not be abandoned or hated for what he had done.

Even if he hated himself for it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're getting closer to the actual events of the game now! for those of you waiting for that shuake content, joker should show up in a chapter or two!  
> thank you all for your continued support of this! seeing how many people enjoy this and reading your feedback makes me so happy!!

Years passed. Unimportant, uneventful years. He tried to keep his grades high, and constantly kept on a mask of a normal and polite young man. People liked him fine enough, but he didn’t have any real friends.

It didn’t really feel like there was any point to go on living like this.

That was, until he saw the news report. The news report talked about a politician, a bald man with sunglasses. Why did he feel oddly familiar?

“...Masayoshi Shido…” He wasn’t fully listening to the reporter, but he did hear that, and he felt his throat close up, and his mouth go dry. That was Masayoshi Shido? The Masayoshi Shido who caused his mother’s death?

He looked a bit like him, didn’t he? Akechi could spot some similarities between himself and this man. And his mother always did hate talking about his father, as if thinking about him caused her great pain.

Was it possible that this man was his father?

Masayoshi Shido had a palace, he remembered that from his short time with the Metaverse. He never figured out how to get into it, but he knew it existed. He had promised himself that he would never use the Metaverse again, after what it had done to his aunt, but…

This man deserved that and worse. So much worse. This man was the reason that Akechi’s life was the way it was.

He had money saved up. He needed to get a path to the Metaverse. He was sure that the app would find him once he just had a phone.

It took a while, and quite a bit of money, but he managed to get a phone, and just as he thought, the Metaverse Navigator was already on it. That was step one taken care of, now it was time for the much harder step two, finding out the location and keyword for Masayoshi Shido’s palace. So much time had passed, but he still had no idea what those keywords could be. He wasn’t sure how he could find them out, he had a feeling that Shido wasn’t exactly open about his true feelings and thoughts, so talking to people who know him might not work.

He could go right to the source.

A plan began to form in his mind. He was sure that he could do this.

He was now fifteen years old. It had been a year since that plan began to form in his mind, and now, it was time for it to finally begin.

He was outside of Masayoshi Shido’s office, taking a few deep breaths. He could do this.

He knocked on the door and waited. He had contacted him about interviewing him for a school paper, that was his way in. Of course, what he would actually talk about was much different. He would tell him about the Metaverse, and how it could help fix the scandal he was caught up in. He would offer to help. He would try to figure out how to take him down, while Shido thought he was an ally.

_ He could do this. _

Even if helping Shido meant some people getting hurt, he could do this. He had to do this. All that mattered was finding a way to destroy Masayoshi Shido.

If he couldn’t do that, then what was the point of him living for the past eight years?

When their meeting was over, Akechi felt sick. Shido had made a request, for Akechi to prove the legitmacy of his powers. He was to cause a mental shutdown in a certain woman, and have her die from it.

He knew he’d have to hurt people, he wasn’t prepared to kill someone. But, he couldn’t back down now. It would be fine,  _ he could do this _ , he had to kill Masayoshi Shido, this was required for that,  _ he could do this _ , he didn’t even know this woman,  _ he could do this, he could do this, don’t breakdown just do it. _

She didn’t have a palace. This woman’s heart wasn’t that corrupted. But, she was in Mementos. He typed her name into his phone and went off to find Wakaba Ishikki.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wowza im bad at posting frequently! sorry about the two month hiatus there ;;

Once he had defeated her in battle, it just took one shot. That was all.

She had mentioned having a daughter. She had mentioned… Shido. Her shadow ranted and screamed about what he had done to her. This woman was similar to Akechi’s mother. Her daughter was technically Akechi’s half-sister.

“It’s done. You should see results soon.” He spoke into the phone. The calmness of his voice terrified him. He didn’t feel calm. Why did he sound so calm? “I assume I’ll hear from you then?”

“Yes. Now, I need to go.” He hated his voice. He hated that he was talking to him. He hated this he hated this  _ he hated this. _

He hung up and immediately a scream ripped its way through him. He didn’t stop until his voice was entirely gone.

When he finished screaming and opened his eyes, he was in the Metaverse. He must’ve accidentally pressed the button on his phone…

_ “So, are you finally done screaming?” _

He looked up and saw a strange figure with black and white stripes all along its body. His mouth went dry. This was like when he met Robin Hood.

_ “No chance of being a hero anymore, right? So, why bother trying? Let’s be real, all that hero stuff was just delusions of grandeur. You know who you really are. Just a villain who wants revenge. My power will be useful to you in this pursuit.” _

He became vaguely aware of the mask covering his face and head, tinting his vision red. It encased him like the maw of some beast. He didn’t try to pull it off. Why bother?

_ “Even if you hate to admit it to yourself, I am thou, and thou art I. Let’s destroy everything that hurts us from now on!” _

“Fine.” His voice was quiet and dead. “I don’t care. I just want the pain to stop. Can you help with that… Loki?”

_ “Let’s destroy some shadows. We shall rip them to shreds.” _

The figure pauses as it sees Akechi’s horrified face.

_ “Not people in Mementos. Just the monsters.” _

“Yeah. Okay. That might help me.”

He was seventeen now. He was at the Wilton Hotel, quietly grabbing some desserts from the buffet. He wasn’t here because he wanted to be, the large crowd was causing him to feel slightly nervous, and his cheeks hurt from having to fake so many smiles. But, he had to be here. Shido had invited him.

Someone approached the table, someone… notable. He looked to be about the same age as Akechi, and not particularly wealthy. How did he have the money to be here? The young man looked into Akechi’s eyes. His eyes were so piercing…

_ Was that a cat in his bag? _

“Is that a-”

The young man smiled and put a finger up to his lips. “Keep it a secret, okay?” He curled his finger back down as he spoke. Akechi was stunned into silence, but managed a small nod. How was this extremely out of place young man so  _ confident? _

How did it feel like he just  _ belonged? _

He obviously didn’t. Akechi belonged here more than he did. But, he didn’t feel half as confident as this person looked. How was that fair?

The young man walked to a different buffet table, rather obviously eavesdropping on some people talking there. That didn’t matter. He could eavesdrop on them if he wanted, Akechi didn’t care what he did. This person had no affect on him. After all, it’s not like he’d ever have to deal with him again, right?

But even as he tried to think that, he could feel himself trying to stand up a bit straighter, trying to carry himself a bit more like that person was.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we did it yall. we got to the delicious pancakes line.  
> as usual, thanks for all ur support! ur comments and kudos and all that mean the world to me c:

It was about a month later when he saw that person again. He was at a TV station while a nearby school was taking a trip there. He heard four voices, three loud, one quiet, talking by the restrooms. The quiet one sounded… oddly familiar.

He walked past and glanced over, he hadn’t been planning on saying anything to them, but his surprise stopped him in his tracks. That boy…

Wait. Why were there only three people? He had been standing here too long, he had to say something now, so they didn’t think he was just staring.

“Excuse me, I couldn’t help but notice your uniforms. Are you students of Shujin Academy?” He asked. The boy with dark hair and piercing eyes had a cat in his bag. Now that he thought about it, the punk looking boy and the blond girl looked familiar too. They had been at a table at the Wilton Hotel, hadn’t they?

“Yeah, whaddya want?” The punk boy turned to him, his hands stuffed into his pockets. This boy seemed immediately suspicious of Akechi.

“I happened to be passing by, so it seemed polite to greet you. We’ll be filming together after all.” He would never be fully used to having to talk like this, so… politely. It was exhausting. He hadn’t introduced himself, he should’ve done that first. Why was this even more difficult than usual? “Ah, where are my manners? My name is Goro Akechi.”

The conversation carried on aimlessly, he just wanted to leave it quickly. He said something about needing to leave because of a briefing, that sounded legitimate, right?

“So, you’re going to go have cake now? I missed lunch today, so I’m quite hungry myself.” He said. He just wanted to follow up with a ‘have fun’ and then quickly leave, but the three stared at him, confusion plain on their faces. He was sure that he heard them talk about pancakes! That high-pitched voice had said something about it… “Am I mistaken? I thought I heard something about delicious pancakes.” What was he saying? Why did he say it like that? What was he  _ doing? _ “No matter. Welp, see you tomorrow.” Welp?  _ Welp? _ He sounded so stupid. Leave quickly leave quickly leave quickly.

The dark haired boy smiled at him as he left. Could he tell how flustered he was? God, he would have to see them tomorrow…

The recording was supposed to be easy. He had been on this show before, he was well received on it! It was supposed to be easy but…

Of course, they were there. The three from before were staring at him.

He smiled to the cameras, he said the right things, he acted a bit nervous and embarrassed, but in an appealing way. Not the horrible sort of nervousness he was actually feeling. He was glad when the subject of the Phantom Thieves were brought up, he didn’t have to fake a smile when he was talking about them, about how he hoped they were real, and were really heroes of justice. Was that childish of him? Probably. But, he still couldn’t shake that part of him that wanted to be some sort of hero, to save everyone and stop the bad guys.

He added that what they were doing was wrong, and that they should be tried, because that’s what he was supposed to say. He says something offhandedly about how he would like to hear what students think about the Phantom Thieves, it’ll give him a short break after all and-

And  _ of course _ they pick that boy.

“Assuming they’re real, what do you think of the Phantom Thieves?” The host asks.

“They do more than the cops.” The dark haired boy smiles playfully as he answers. Akechi somewhat expected an answer like that. Him and his friends didn’t seem to be the type that cared for rules or authority. Akechi laughs, hoping it doesn’t sound too forced.

“It’s intriguing to hear such a strong acknowledgement. In that case, I have one more question to ask.” He stared into the boy’s eyes. For now, it didn’t seem like there was a crowd, it didn’t feel like he was just talking for the cameras. He was just having a conversation. “If someone close to you, for example your friend next to you-” He motioned to the blond boy. “-if his heart suddenly changed, wouldn’t you think it was the work of the Phantom Thieves?”

“They only target criminals.” He replied without hesitation. There was no way that blond boy hadn’t committed any crimes, he would put money on it. Vandalism at the very least.

“How can you be so sure?” That sounded too accusatory. Stop talking to him, go back to the hosts. Go back to saying things you won’t remember a second later. Just keep doing that until it’s time to stop.

Once the cameras turned off, he walked over to that boy. He needed to talk to him. He didn’t know why, he just had the feeling that he knew a lot more than he was letting on. Could he be a member of… No, he couldn’t be sure of that yet. 

“Hello there. I’d like to thank you in person for such a meaningful discussion.” He says with his practiced smile. “What’s your name?”

“Akira Kurusu.” He says, shifting his backpack’s weight. He sees the tip of a fuzzy tail peek out.

“And, what’s your cat’s name?”

Akira smiles, a genuine one. So different from Akechi’s. “His name is Morgana.”

“Well, Akira, our discussion was refreshing. Few people are so willing to speak their minds around me. Adults are only interested in using the young, while they simply do as the adults say.”

“You could say that again.” Akira mutters under his breath. “A lot of people are like that. Not all of them though.”

“Yes, not all of them.” He echoes it, even though he’s not sure if he agrees with it. “I feel like our discussions could be quite fruitful! Would you mind talking with me again?”

“That’s fine by me.” Akira pulls his phone out. “What’s your phone number?”

Well, that was straight to the point. Akechi told him the number, which Akira tapped into his phone.

“Here, to make sure I typed it in right.” He muttered and typed something. A tone played from Akechi’s phone, a part of the Neo Featherman opening. He thought he had his phone on silent. Why didn’t he have it on silent?! Okay, it was okay, maybe he wouldn’t recognize it. “Was that the Featherman theme?”  _ Damn it. _

“I-I should get going.” Akechi tried not to trip over his words. “I look forward to talking to you again.”

“Alright. It was nice meeting you Goro.” Akira smiled at him, and Akechi could feel his face heat up. “Ah, sorry. Akechi?”

“Yeah. Akechi.” He muttered, quickly turning on his heel and walking away. As he began to walk, he heard Akira’s bag shift, the cat popping his head out?

“Talk about a problematic guy to get involved with!” A high-pitched voice said. Akechi glanced back and saw the little black cat’s mouth moving. “There’s probably a lot we can learn from him though!”

His cat was… talking?


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall ready for cute shit  
> and for akechi infodumping about featherman

It was eleven at night, and Goro Akechi was sitting cross-legged on his bed, tapping away on his phone. He had probably typed and immediately deleted twenty texts at this point. He wanted to talk to someone, to not be so crushingly and completely alone right now, but…

What the hell was he supposed to say? If Akira’s first text had been something else, this would probably be a lot easier. But, how was he supposed to respond to just a little emoticon? He wasn’t going to reply with one of his own, that would look stupid. But didn’t replying with just words seem too serious? Why was this so  _ difficult?  _ His phone buzzed, and he now saw new texts underneath the original.

( ´ ω ` )ノﾞ

_ everything ok??? _

_ you’ve been typing for a long time _

Oh no. Oh no now he was  _ worried _ about him. Oh this was horrible. He felt sick. He had to respond now though. If he didn’t it would just make things worse.

_ Yes, I’m fine. Sorry, I’m just not the best at starting conversations. _

_ well what do u want to talk about? _

_ I’m not sure. I just couldn’t sleep, so I figured I would see if you were awake. _

_ any reason u cant sleep? _

_ I had a bit of a nightmare. _

Why did he admit that? He didn’t need to. He could have just ended the conversation. Why was he still talking to him?

_ u wanna talk about it? _

Yes. He wanted to talk about it. He wanted to talk about so many things, just to get them off his chest, to have someone else know about them, even if they can’t help at all.

_ Not really. _

_ wanna talk about fun stuff instead? _

_ Like what? _

_ whos ur fav featherman _

He had planned to end the conversation quickly, but before he knew it his fingers were tapping on the screen at an incredible speed as he typed out an overly long paragraph about why  _ obviously _ the best member of the team was Blue Swan or Black Condor. They were tied in his heart. How could he choose between them? They both had really incredible development for a children’s show, and their special moves were amazing! Oh, and in his favorite episode, focusing on how the two of them worked together as a pair, he had to bring that up!

He stared at the essay he had written. This was… embarrassing. But for some reason, he didn’t feel like deleting it. So, instead he just ended it with a ‘Sorry, you probably didn’t want me to rant like that.’

_ well now i gotta watch the show. do u know where i can watch it? _

_ Sadly, it’s not easy to find online. I could lend you DVDs though. _

_ cool. thans _

_ *thanks _

  
  


“Oh right, you borrowed that DVD from Akechi right? You should watch it so you can return it quickly!” Morgana suggested, lying on Akira’s bed.

“Yeah. That’s a good idea.” Akira replied, popping the disc into his DVD player and sitting down to watch some of it.

“I think watching this so you can talk about it with Akechi helped your kindness! But. I think next time, you should just go to bed after exploring the Metaverse. You look really tired!”

“But, I needed to watch at least a little! I’m gonna pass out now.”

“You better not oversleep tomorrow!”

“I won’t, I won’t.”


	12. Chapter 12

It had been just over a month since that day at the TV station. Akechi was walking to a small store in the underground mall. The store sold some very good desserts, and he had been craving something sweet. He turned a corner and almost ran into-

“Nijima-san?”

It was Makoto Nijima, Sae Nijima’s sister. He really didn’t know her that well, but she seemed like a nice girl who was trying hard to be a perfect student. It didn’t seem like she was doing it for herself, but that wasn’t any of his business. Seeing Makoto wasn’t odd, what was odd was her company.

Akira Kurusu, his two blond friends that Akechi saw at the TV station, and Yusuke Kitagawa, the pupil of Madarame. Well, that didn’t help make Akira and the other two less suspicious.

“Akechi!” Akira called out with a smile, walking forward and pulling something out of his bag. It was the DVD that he had lent him. “Here you go! I finished it earlier. It was really good.”

Akechi grabbed the case quickly, hiding the front of it. He could feel his cheeks get hot from the embarrassment. Did Nijima-san see it? He hoped she didn’t.

“It’s… nice to see you all. Except for you, I suppose.” He turned to Yusuke. “For you, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Goro Akechi, you’re Yusuke Kitagawa, right?”

“How do you know my name?”

“Well, I’m a psychic!” He said with a little laugh. “Kidding, kidding. I’m just a detective. I need to know lots of things. But, you’re a former pupil of Madarame, yes?”

Yusuke’s expression turned pained for a second, and he looks down. “Yes.”

“Ah, speaking of Madarame, I just recently joined the investigation team looking into the Phantom Thieves!” He smiled and observed their reactions as he spoke. The blond girl was looking away, twirling her hair around her finger. Was she truly not interested in the conversation, or was she just acting? The blond boy to her left bit down on his lip with a worried expression, glancing to Akira. Yusuke was looking down, Akechi couldn’t see his expression, but he assumed it was still pained and sad. Makoto was holding her purse tighter, and picking at a loose thread, she was nervous.

Akira’s face gave nothing away, and he looked right into Akechi’s eyes. Akechi looked back.

“Did you see that Medjed has declared war on them?” Finally, a reaction. Akira raises his eyebrows slightly and looks away, glancing to his friends. The two blonds both pull out their phones, the distress plain on their faces.

“What?!” The girl squeaked as she read.

“What’s it say?” The boy looked to her, stuffing his phone in his pocket.

“Well. You both seem awfully agitated.” Akechi tries not to smirk. “Why is that?”

“She’s-” The boy points his thumb over to the worried girl. “-uh… a huge fan of the Phantom Thieves.”

What a horrible liar. Akechi couldn’t hold back his grin anymore.

“Hm. I don’t know how wise it is to be a fan of groups like them.”

“What is with these comments?” Makoto glares at him as she speaks.

“My apologies, I just… think you all are an interesting group. Prosecutor Nijima’s sister, an ex-pupil of Madarame, and a few Shujin Academy students. It seems you’re all connected to the Phantom Thieves.”

“I guess we do seem a little suspicious when you say it like that.” Akira said, a carefree smile on his face. “But, I’m pretty sure none of us are Phantom Thieves. Except maybe Morgana. He’s suspicious.” He joked, moving his bag and petting the cat inside.

“If you were a Phantom Thief, what would you do about Medjed? I’m curious.”

“I think I’d ignore them. But who knows? Maybe I wouldn’t think that if I actually had to deal with it. Kinda hard to answer that hypothetically.”

“Anyways!” The blond boy pipes up. “We’re just normal high school kids! Not Phantom Thieves or whatever. We don’t know anything about them. If anything, we wanna hear what you gotta say about them.”

“Well, I believe that they are a group of teenagers with a relative amount of free time after school, and a hideout somewhere where they all meet up. They began activity around April, and are likely students of Shujin Academy.” He said. “And, that does apply to your little group, doesn’t it? You can’t deny that it’s a bit suspicous.”

“You’re the suspicious one.” Akira replied, his tone serious. Akechi froze, at a loss for words. Akira breaks the serious facade and grins. “After all, you’re hiding that DVD!”

Ah. He was joking.

“Haha. I can’t say I was expecting you to joke at a time like this. You always seem to find a way to surprise me Akira. You know, I think we’d make a great team if we worked together.”

He means it, and that surprises and frightens him. There’s part of him that wants to work with someone, to have someone to share his thoughts and feelings with. It was funny. He thought he was used to being alone after all this time, but it seemed that there were still parts of himself that depended on others. Parts that he couldn’t get rid of, no matter how he tried.

“Anyways, I should be going. It was nice talking to you all. Goodbye.” He turned away and walked off.

After a few minutes he received a text.

_ their names are ryuji and ann _

_ What? _

_ my friends. ryuji was wearing the yellow tank top. ann had the pigtails _

_ you used everyone elses names. you didnt know theirs right? _

Akechi chuckled a little. Still finding ways to surprise him… Akira was more perceptive than he gave him credit for.

_ Yes. Thank you. _


	13. Chapter 13

“Akechi-kun, could I speak with you?” The voice came from behind him as he bought his slice of cake. He jumped slightly and turned around.

“Ah, Nijima-san!” It was only a few minutes after he had walked away from her and her friends. She wasn’t with them now, she was by herself. “Done spending time with your friends?”

“No. I just needed to talk to you. Do you really suspect my friends and I of being Phantom Thieves?”

“I can’t say anything for certain, and honestly? I don’t believe that you are. I trust you Nijima-san.” He was lying. “Honestly, for you to do something like this? You’d have to be possessed!”

“Well, then can you not act like you actually suspect us?” She crossed her arms. 

“Right. I might’ve gotten a bit carried away. I’m sorry Nijima-san.” He replied before patting his pockets, his eyes widening with mock surprise. “Ah. My phone… It appears I don’t have it.”

“Oh! Did you forget it at home?”

“No, I’m sure I had it earlier.” He said. He knew his phone was in his back pocket. “Maybe it fell out of my pocket? Nijima-san, may I use your phone to call mine? Maybe someone found it.”

“Of course.” She pulled out her phone and handed it to him. Akechi acted like he was calling his own phone, when really he was placing a small device on the large panda charm hanging from her phone. It was a listening device. He was almost sure that the group of Akira, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, and Makoto were the Phantom Thieves, and that if he listened in on them, he’d have proof.

“Hm. No answer. Well, I’m going to retrace my steps and try to find it. I’ll see you later Nijima-san.” He handed her phone back to her and walked off, trying hard to hold back his grin.

He wasn’t able to listen in until later that night. He had been busy with more important matters. After all, dealing with Shido was the priority, the Phantom Thieves were just a distraction. But, when he was able, he made sure to listen in.

“Futaba’s mother and I knew each other long before Futaba was born.” A deep voice, who was talking? And… Futaba? Why did that name sound so familiar? He thought on it for a moment, not paying attention to what they were saying until-

“Wakaba threw herself into the street. Right in front of Futaba.”

Wakaba? Wakaba Ishikki? It couldn’t be her, right? But, when he… when he spoke to her shadow… didn’t she mention a daughter? Futaba Ishikki? He put his hand to his mouth. He was going to be sick.

They mentioned her having a palace, but not being evil. As if that was possible. If she had a palace, she had to have a corrupted heart.

At least Akechi could be completely sure now, these students were the Phantom Thieves, and they had access to the Metaverse. But, they didn’t have the keywords for Futaba’s palace yet, and Akechi had no way of knowing them, so all he could do was wait. And besides, thinking about Futaba and Wakaba was… exhausting to say the least. He’d rest for now, and listen more later.

It was the next morning, and Akechi was carefully listening in on a Phantom Thief meeting.

“I’ll start. Futaba was listening in on Leblanc.” The high pitched voice that he had heard come from Akira’s cat said. He still didn’t understand that one, and frankly, he wasn’t going to try to. He just accepted that it was an oddity of the Metaverse. And it seemed like Akechi wasn’t the only one listening in on the Phantom Thieves.

_ Half-siblings thinking alike. _

He pushed that thought from his mind. He couldn’t think of her as family. If he did, then how was he supposed to live with what he did to her mother? He shook his head and jotted down notes of their conversation.

Futaba was a hacker who would help the Phantom Thieves deal with Medjed, and they seemed convinced she wasn’t at all evil. Morganna, who seemed to know the most about the Metaverse, assured them that it was possible to have a palace without being evil.

“The pain she’s gone through must be the cause of her distortion.” Makoto said.

_ It’s my fault it’s my fault it’s my fault it’s my fault- _

He grits his teeth so hard that it feels like they might shatter. Stop thinking.

They mentioned stealing her heart in order to heal her, to help her with her trauma. For a moment, he has a stupid childish thought.

_ Could they help me? _

Shut up shut up stop thinking shut up. He feels the beginning of a headache, clenching his jaw too much. He sighs and rubs his forehead. After several minutes of a conversation with Futaba that he can’t hear, it’s through text after all, they discover the keyword.

Tomb.

He pulls out his phone and enters the keywords. He’d enter in a few minutes, he wouldn’t want to end up at the entrance at the same time as them. It was time to meet Futaba Sakura.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a warning, this chapter includes akechi having a panic attack and having suicidal thoughts in the final few paragraphs. if you want to not read that, stop the second time you see the word murderer in italics.  
> as usual, thank you all! it's so crazy to me that this fic has gotten this much attention! you all are the best :D
> 
> also quick edit for clarity. in the last bit akechi is talking about his metaverse gun. I always saw it as akechi always using a real gun that he brings in for his black mask killings. but he still has a metaverse cognitiony gun. So that's why he's not sure if it will work

He appeared within a vast and flat desert. He was in the outfit that appeared when using Loki. The one who he started out with was usually based on how he was feeling, so Loki being active right now made sense.

He squinted into the sun. It was so hot... 

“Come, Robin Hood!” He said. Wearing black in this heat was near suicidal. Robin Hood appeared, and his outfit changed to his white one. That was better.

The desert was large, but it wasn’t hard to navigate. Somehow, he could feel the direction he was supposed to go. It didn’t take long to see the pyramid on the horizon, and from there it didn’t take long to arrive at it. As he did, he saw Akira and his friends walking in. They were in their school uniforms. Odd, was the outfit change unique to Akechi?

He followed in behind them, making sure to stay quiet. There was one change to their group. There was a large black cat, standing on two legs. It looked like Akira’s cat, Morgana. What had Akira said yesterday?

_ “But, I’m pretty sure none of us are Phantom Thieves. Except maybe Morgana. He’s suspicious.” _

His cat was a Phantom Thief. Honestly, it made just as much sense as anything else to do with the Metaverse. He didn’t know why he was surprised.

“Loki.” He said softly, his outfit changing to black. It was better for stealth, and if the Phantom Thieves saw him, they wouldn’t see his face. Besides, the inside of the pyramid was nice and cool.

The Phantom Thieves were talking to the shadow of Futaba now. He stopped in his tracks and stared at her. So, this was Futaba? She did look a lot like Wakaba. She looked to him, blinking slowly.

“Those who plunder my tomb. Why have you come?” She spoke loudly. She was talking to the Phantom Thieves, sure, but she was talking to him too. Akechi quickly hid by a sarcophagus, in case they followed Futaba’s gaze.

_ “You killed her!” _

_ “Murderer!” _

_ “It’s all your fault!” _

Voices rang out from nowhere. Akechi’s throat tightened, and he shakily leaned against the wall, having trouble standing. Was the palace reacting to him? Did she know he killed Wakaba? It was like everything had been thinking for the past two years was being played at full volume.

“That’s right. I did it.” Futaba’s shadow said, and Akechi felt his blood turn to ice. Those voices weren’t directed at him? Futaba blamed herself? He wanted to run over and tell her that it wasn’t her fault, that she didn’t do anything wrong, that he was the only villain here. “I am the one who killed my mother.” You didn’t! Stop!

There was a scream of something and the whole pyramid shook. He stumbled and fell to the ground, cursing under his breath. Luckily the scream covered up the sound of him falling.

“My mother exists here. I will remain here. I will do so until I die.” Futaba said before disappearing. The Phantom Thieves clothes changed suddenly. They fit their name quite a bit more now.

“She sees us as a threat now… What’s going on?!” Yusuke said. That’s what triggered the change in clothes? So, Futaba already saw him as a threat… Was that just due to her not knowing him at all, or did she know the truth? He heard a loud thud, and glanced over. A giant boulder had fallen, and was starting to roll down the stairs. Shit. The Phantom Thieves turned around.  _ Shit. _

He quickly pressed the button on his phone that let him go back to the real world, praying that they hadn’t seen him. Tomorrow, he’d go back tomorrow. 

“Did you guys see something when we were running out?”

“No, what do you mean Joker?”

“Not sure. Just thought I saw something for a second. Probably just a shadow though.” He muttered. That made the most sense, right? It was a black figure, that fit the usual description of a shadow. But, he couldn’t help but think of how Madarame and Kaneshiro mentioned someone else in the Metaverse. Were they being followed?

The next day, Akechi went back to the pyramid. When he walked inside, he found a large hole in the floor. It seemed that the Phantom Thieves had gotten here before him, and had managed to set off a trap. He jumped down and followed their tracks.

It took some time for him to find the Phantom Thieves. They were putting together a mural. He quietly watched them, making sure to stay just close enough to hear what was being said.

“This adult seems to be reading something to a crying child…?” Yusuke’s voice.

“I should never have had Futaba.” An adult man’s voice, coming from nowhere. Likely related to the memory depicted on the mural. “She was always such a bother.”

Akechi looked at the mural, it was a bit hard to see from this distance, but he saw multiple figures in suits reading a note to Futaba.

Men in suits? Reading a suicide note?

“It seems you caused your mother a great deal of trouble Futaba-chan… She must have had some kind of maternity neurosis.”

_ Maternity neurosis? _

This must’ve been the faked suicide note. It helped make it seem less like a mental shutdown. He knew one was involved, but he never read it. It was almost identical to what those men in suits said was in Akechi’s mother’s suicide note.

He had put her through the exact same trauma he had endured.

The Phantom Thieves jumped down and continued on, heading towards the treasure, but Akechi’s feet felt like they were stuck to the ground, he couldn’t follow them. He could feel his chest move up and down far too quickly.

_ “Murderer!” _

He was having a panic attack, this wasn’t too unusual for him, he wasn’t dying. He thought that, and yet… He couldn’t listen to himself.

“My fault my fault my fault…” He muttered, trying to hold his head in his hands, but all he could do was scratch the claws of his gloves against his mask. “I’m a murderer… I should be dead… It’d be better for everyone, wouldn’t it?” He had a gun after all. Sure, it wasn’t a traditional gun, and it was the Metaverse, but maybe it would work…

Dammit no! He couldn’t do that… If he didn’t finish this, then he killed Wakaba for nothing. He had to keep on living. He had to kill Shido. After that… after that he could die. It was what he deserved.


	15. Chapter 15

It was a few days before the Phantom Thieves were actually ready to steal the treasure. Akechi had been keeping a close eye on their activity in the palace, and had been writing down what he could gather about their process of stealing a person’s heart. It was the day of the big event now, and he was following a safe distance behind them as they made their way to the treasure, making sure to stay behind cover.

He had to take a moment to breathe, gather his thoughts, stay calm. If he followed them any further, he would likely see the shadow version of Futaba again. Could he handle that? It also wasn’t guaranteed that the area near the treasure would have good hiding spots. As much as he wanted to fully know their process, this was risky. He had to think.

And when he looked up, they were gone. Dammit! He must’ve spent too long in his own head! They had already moved on, and it wasn’t exactly easy to know where they went with the corrupted and broken nature of this palace. But, then he heard footsteps. Ah, maybe one of them stayed behind? He could watch them. He looked towards the noise and saw…

Futaba Sakura.

“So this is inside my heart…” She muttered. Her eyes weren’t yellow. She was wearing normal clothes. This wasn’t a shadow. Was it possible for someone to go into their own palace? A mural fell down in front of her, and her shadow self appeared. The shadow self immediately locked eyes with Akechi, despite him being mostly hidden.

“Do you remember?” The shadow asked. He couldn’t tell who he was asking.

“This is the suicide note. The men in black suits read it right after mom died…” Futaba said. She looked so sad and tired…

_ You did this to her. _

“Correct. Look at the next one.” Another mural fell. This one showed Wakaba falling in front of a car.

“This is… when mom jumped in front of that car…” Futaba said. No no no… She didn’t jump! He wanted to run over and tell her the truth. Would that make her feel better? Surely anger was better than sadness. It’s easier to blame someone else, isn’t it? He could give that to her.

“That’s right. Now the next.” Shadow Futaba said.

“No…” Futaba sank to the ground, holding herself. It took Akechi a moment to realize it, but Akechi had said  _ no _ at the same time. He stepped back. He could leave, he could go back to the real world and not deal with this. He could-

“Don’t run.” Shadow Futaba said, her voice deadly serious. Again, he couldn’t tell who she was talking to. “I thought you made your mind up after you talked to the Phantom Thieves.” That was surely directed just at Futaba.

“Ok… I’ll look. It’s me complaining. Mom scolded me for bothering her… I knew it, it was me who killed mom. I was a bad daughter. I weighed her down and she hated me for it…” She sobbed and wiped her eyes.

No no no  _ no. _ She loved you, she loved you so much. Even her shadow talked about Futaba in a positive light. The only negative was that Wakaba wished she could spend more time with her.

Futaba continued to talk with her shadow, until it helped Futaba remember the truth. That Wakaba loved Futaba, that Wakaba’s research was close to being finished, and then they would go on a trip.

_ And it was Akechi’s fault that they never did. _

He couldn’t take this anymore, he didn’t care if it meant he wouldn’t see the last part of how the Phantom Thieves stole hearts, it didn’t matter. He couldn’t be here anymore. He pressed the button on his phone, and went back to the real world, in his small apartment.

Don’t think about Futaba don’t think about Futaba, just think about something else.

The Phantom Thieves could steal someone’s heart to help them be a better person.

This person didn’t have to be their usual target of a corrupt adult taking advantage of other people. It could also be someone like Futaba.

Futaba was able to enter her own palace.

If Futaba had a persona, she might’ve been able to steal her own heart, and thus heal her heart and mind all on her own.

Akechi could steal his own heart, couldn’t he? He could make himself… better. He could be more confident, happy, be a better person, and truly feel like a hero again. He could use the Metaverse to help people. He could be just like…

_ The Phantom Thieves? _

He wished he didn’t envy them so much. They were supposed to be his enemies! He shook his head and sighed. It didn’t matter. Just focus on the palace idea.

“Goro Akechi.” He said into the Metaverse Navigator. It gave the small checkmark, showing that he did, in fact, have a palace. But, what was the location and distortion? The distortion was a bit easier than location. He always had to fake his emotions, practice what he was going to say, wear masks. It always felt like he was in a play.

“Theater.” He said. The distortion filled in, and showed a checkmark. Everywhere felt like a theater though, he always had to perform. Even when he was alone, he generally didn’t allow himself to think or feel what he truly wanted. “What am I supposed to put? It’s just… everywhere I go.” He muttered to himself.

“Palace found.” The voice came from his phone. The location had been filled in. Everywhere. He wasn’t ready for this. He was physically and emotionally tired, and he wasn’t sure this would even work. He didn’t even know the Phantom Thieves full process!

It didn’t matter. There was a chance. He took a deep breath, and pressed the button go to his palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so. i know that p5 says that persona users cant have palaces but.  
> have you considered.  
> i do what i want


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the lil bit of a wait between the last chapter and this one! i hope you all enjoy this chapter! also, don't worry, we'll get more of akechi's palace later c:

He found himself outside of a large theater, the kind you would see a play at. There was a line going out the door, so many people were waiting to see the performance. Akechi glanced down and saw that he was wearing his white Metaverse outfit. Didn’t the Phantom Thieves say that these outfits were when someone perceived you as a threat? Did he really see even himself as a threat…?

“Akechi-kun!” Someone ran up to him. They were wearing a mask with a large smile painted on. “What are you doing out here?” They grabbed his hand and pulled him along into a back entrance. As he walked by the line, many people cheered and waved to him. They all looked so happy to see him…

“Ah, good, you found Akechi-kun!” Another masked individual said as he was brought into the theater. “You really need to stop running off. We have to get you ready for the show! What are you wearing? You should be in your costume! Go change.” He was brought to a changing room, unable to get a word in. He walked in and closed the door, he needed a quiet moment.

There was an outfit hanging up, one like the one he was currently wearing, but with some feathers on it, more ruffles, and a crown to go with it. Okay… So, these cognitions thought he was the Shadow Akechi. That was good. It would be easy to go anywhere he wanted without suspicion. He would need to wear this outfit though…

He exited the room once he was changed, and made sure to take off his mask. He felt oddly dizzy, and the world seemed oddly distorted. The walls glitched slightly, and he could see the seams of the world starting to seperate. He blinked and shook his head, and the glitches went away. What was going on? Was this a result of him being in his own palace?

“Ah, Akechi. Are you alright?” Someone asked. He looked over and saw a cognitive version of Akira, wearing an odd red and black costume. It looked like… a villain’s outfit.

“I-I don’t feel too well…” He muttered.

“Are you still upset about me being a villain in this?” Akira asked, brining Akechi over to a couch and sitting down with him.

“You’re not a villain.” He said. Was Akira really that in his cognition? Akechi didn’t  _ think _ that he thought of him like that.

“It’s just the role for the play silly.” He said. “Besides, I’m just the first villain. Shido plays the worse one! I know it’s hard to act like we’re fighting, but it’ll be alright. We’ll go get cake or something afterwards.” Akira leaned in and gently kissed Akechi’s forehead before walking off. That made Akechi freeze. Why did Akira do that?! He could write it off as nonsense if it had only happened anywhere else in the Metaverse, but this was in Akechi’s  _ cognition! _ It means he thought about that! Well, people thought about meaningless nonsense all the time, right? So, this was completely meaningless. It had to be.

He pressed the button on his phone and went back to the real world. He walked over to his bed and let himself fall on it. There was too much happening today, he couldn’t handle all of this…

Without thinking, he tapped his phone a few times and brought it up to his ear.

“Hey Akechi, what’s up?” It was Akira’s voice. He sounded exhausted. Probably because he only recently got back from the Metaverse. Why did he call him? He should hang up. He was already confused about how he felt about Akira, he should just avoid him. He should just avoid everyone, after all, he was a villain… He should be  _ dead- _

He tried to quiet himself, but a sob forced itself out of his throat. Why was he  _ crying _ ? Stop just stop hang up-

“Akechi…?” Akira’s voice was worried. “Are you alright?”

“I-I… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called. Sorry.” He muttered, wiping his face.

“Akechi. Don’t hang up please.” He said. “I’m worried about you. I want to help. Do you want to go somewhere?”

“You should go to bed!” Morgana’s voice piped up in the background.

“I don’t think it’d be a good idea for me to go out right now.” Akechi responded. “I’m a little bit of a mess right now.”

“Do you want me to come over then?” He asked. Akechi felt his throat close up.  _ Him  _ come over  _ here _ ? “It’s okay if the answer’s no of course. I just wanna make sure you’re safe, that’s all.”

“C-could you come over here? I’ll text you the address…”

“Yeah, of course. We can watch some Feathermen together or something.” That sounded nice.

After a little while of waiting, there was a knock at the door. Akechi opened it and saw Akira standing there, holding a box with a cake inside, and a small plush of Blue Swan.

“Honey, I’m home!” He said in a joking tone with a big smile.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing akira and akechi this soft and wholesome fuels my heart and cures my depression  
> also hot dang we're at over 3000 hits! oh my god!!! thank you all so much it makes me so happy that you're enjoying my writing. you're all the best and i love you all .･ﾟﾟ･(／ω＼)･ﾟﾟ･.

“You really didn’t have to do all of this.”

“I wanted to.”

“Why?!” His voice came out harsher than he meant it to, like he was angry. He wasn’t, he just didn’t understand at all why Akira would go through all this trouble for him. It made no sense. Akira tilted his head to the side and smiled.

“Cuz we’re friends? Isn’t that a good enough reason?”

Akechi felt the tears that he just chased away come back in full force. Friends? They were friends?

“You… You truly think of me as a friend? You’re being serious?”

“Akechi. I brought you a cake and a plushie. I came to your house in the middle of the night. We’re friends. I care about you.”

He laughed and wiped his eyes. “Sorry, it’s just… I’ve never really had many friends.” He wanted to say  _ any _ friends, but that sounded too sad. Akira didn’t say anything, and just looked at him, as if he was expecting him to say more. No, not expecting… He was hoping that Akechi would open up to him. But, Akechi didn’t know if he could do that right now. “...This cake is good.”

“I’m glad you like it.” Akira responded with a small worried smile. He wanted Akechi to talk about himself a bit more, so he could get to know him, but he wouldn’t push it. “You seemed like a strawberry kinda guy.”

“I am. You seem like you’d like chocolate. Dark chocolate.”

“Wow, you really are a detective.” Akira joked with a laugh. “Yeah, I love chocolate, but I don’t have too much of a sweet tooth. You seem to though.”

Akechi’s face reddened and brushed a few crumbs away from his mouth. “Listen, desserts are the best type of food.”

He chuckled softly. “Cute.”

Akechi coughed, almost choking on nothing. Did he hear him right? He couldn’t have, right? God, he could feel how much he was blushing, he probably looked so stupid…

“Do you want to watch some Featherman?”

“Sure, we could go from where you left off.”

“Sounds good.”

After a few episodes, Akechi drifted off to sleep, leaning his head on Akira’s shoulder. He didn’t mean to, it had just been such an exhausting day. Akira smiled and tried to stay still, so that he wouldn’t wake him up. He turned off the television and pulled a blanket over Akechi with his free arm.

He didn’t want to just leave him alone, he wanted to stay with him and see how he was doing in the morning. So, he’d stay overnight, it’d be fine.

Morgana popped his head out of Akira’s bag that was on the floor. “I still don’t trust him. He’s suspicious.” He said quietly. “He heard me talking before, he responded to it!”

“So, he’s been to the Metaverse, that doesn’t mean that he’s suspicious, or related to the mental shutdowns, or anything like that. He could just be like us.” Akira replied in a whisper.

Morgana huffed, his ears going down as he made an annoyed expression. “You just want to trust him because you think he’s cute.”

“I want to trust him because he’s my friend.”

“And you think he’s cute.”

“Shush. You’re gonna wake him up. Let’s just try and get some sleep, okay?”

“Hold on, you should take me to get a cake tomorrow!”

“Why’s that?”

“He seemed really happy when you got him a cake, and Lady Ann loves cake! So I want to get her something!”

Akira rolled his eyes and took off his glasses. “Maybe, you dork. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight!”


	18. Chapter 18

“Mornin’. Did you sleep okay?”

Akechi was confused and surprised for a moment. Why was he on the couch? Why was Akira here? What time was it?

“Your hair’s sticking up a little.” Akira said with a little laugh. Akechi felt his face redden, and he tried to pat his hair down.

“What time is it?”

“Eight in the morning. It’s Sunday though, so you don’t have to worry about school.”

“Good. Um. Sorry for falling asleep on your shoulder. I guess I was just more tired than I realized!”

“I didn’t mind.” Akira pet the cat lying in his lap. Wait, his cat was here?

“You brought Morgana? He must be hungry… I don’t have any cat food.”

“I want sushi!” Morgana piped up.

“But I might have some leftover tuna sushi in the fridge.” Akechi said. Morgana cheered. “Um, are you hungry? I don’t know if I have anything good for breakfast.”

“If we head over to my place, I can make us curry. I’m pretty good at it.”

“Okay, but let’s get Morgana his sushi first.” He went to the fridge and got some out, feeding the fish to him. “He looks so happy. Good kitty.”

“You just made his whole week.” Akira said with a laugh.

“I’m not a cat.” Morgana huffed once he finished his tuna. He then hopped into Akira’s bag and curled up into a ball. “And I’m certainly not a  _ kitty _ .”

Akechi grabbed a brush and fixed his hair. “There we go. Now I can leave my room.” He laughed.

“Let’s go get you some curry and coffee!” Akira grabbed his hand and happily walked out with him.

_ He was holding his hand. _

“You have a really nice smile.”

Was he smiling? Yeah, he could feel it now, he was smiling, truly smiling, without even thinking about it. Was that a good thing?

_ No, he probably just looked like a lovestruck idiot. _

Wait, lovestruck? Why did he think lovestruck? He didn’t  _ love _ him did he? God, he shouldn’t be around him, he just made things too complicated.

“And here we are! This is Leblanc.”

Leblanc? Wasn’t this the place that Sae-san had told him about? He followed Akira inside and sat down. There was an older man there, looking at Akechi curiously.

“Sojiro! This is Akechi, remember? I told you about him.”

_ He told him about him? _

“I heard about this place from Sae-san, it’s just as nice as she described it.” He said, trying to be polite. Sojiro’s expression turned bitter.

“I told her that I don’t have anything more for you people-”

“Sojiro,” Akira said, shaking his head, “he just came here for some food, okay?”

Sojiro huffed and walked away, but someone else came in the cafe. A small girl with long orange hair. It was Futaba.

“You must be Wakaba Ishikki’s…” He muttered, not thinking. He shook his head. “Anyways, I’m sorry if I made things awkward, Akira. It seems that this sort of thing happens no matter where I go.” He laughed sadly. “I’m sorry.”

Futaba ran behind Akira, gripping his sleeve and staring at Akechi. Akira poured him a cup of coffee, giving him that look again. That look that showed that he was listening, that he wanted to hear more, to get to know Akechi. Usually, that sort of look and the knowledge that someone wanted to be closer would make Akechi retreat, to quickly build up the walls between him. But… Something about the type of person Akira was, and the fact that Futaba was here, and the comforting atmosphere…

“My mother was in a relationship with an absolute low-life, who left before I was even born.”  _ Why did he say that? _ “The despair of that situation, and having to deal with me, led to her death. And I was passed around from foster home to foster home. But, I’m fine alone.”

_ Stop talking stop talking stop talking stop talking. _

Futaba looked down, her face sad. Akira set down a plate of curry in front of him. Akechi quietly ate some of his curry, drank some of his coffee, and took a deep breath.

“I apologize, I don’t know why I talked about that.” He forced a smile and pushed a bit of hair behind his ear. “This is very good.” He motioned to his plate and cup.

Akira walked out from behind the counter and pulled Akechi into a hug. “I’m sorry you had to go through all of that. You didn’t deserve it.”

Akechi felt his eyes fill with tears. “I didn’t… deserve it?”

“Yeah. You deserve a lot better. So, I wish things hadn’t gone like that. And, maybe your dad sucked, and your mom is gone, but you’re not alone. And it doesn’t mean everyone’s bad, or going to leave, ya know? You can let people in.”

“Well, I just let you in, didn’t I?”

“You did, a bit, and I really appreciate that. But, it kinda feels like there’s more you want to say, that you’re not letting yourself say.” He said. “But don’t rush. It’s okay to take your time.”

Akechi finally hugged back, the tears coming freely now. “Akira?”

“Yeah Akechi?”

“Thank you.”


	19. Chapter 19

The Phantom Thieves were getting more and more popular, and more and more, Goro Akechi was being painted as the villain of their story. His popularity was dropping sharply.

He wished that such a thing didn’t affect him, that he didn’t care what the public thought of him. But… But this was all he had, wasn’t it? And he was losing it. All of his work, all of this time, everything was going to go to waste, because of the Phantom Thieves! He couldn’t allow this to happen. If he wasn’t the charming and loved detective prince, then what was he? Just an unwanted child who brings nothing but misery? He couldn’t let that be him. He  _ couldn’t. _ But what could he do?

If the Phantom Thieves did something awful, truly awful, surely the public would turn on them, right? And then they’d want Akechi to catch them, they’d  _ trust _ him again.

There were only two problems with that idea. First of all, the Phantom Thieves were too stupidly kind to intentionally do something awful, they’d either have to be tricked into it, or have something they didn’t do pinned on them. That wasn’t too hard to solve though. They sent calling cards, it was generally known who their targets were before their hearts changed. All Akechi needed to do was cause a mental shutdown in their next target, after the calling card was sent. The public would blame the Phantom Thieves for that. It wouldn’t feel  _ good _ , but he was used to how bad it felt.

The second problem was… a bit harder to deal with. Hurting the Phantom Thieves should be no problem, but they weren’t just a faceless group of annoyances anymore. He knew their names, their faces, one of them was his half-sister! And one of them was…

_ Akira. _

How could he do something that would hurt him? He was so kind to him, he saw him as a friend, it was like…

_ It was like he was trying to get Akechi to put his guard down. _

Yes, surely that was Akira’s real intention. He didn’t care about Akechi at all! He just knew that he suspected them of being the Phantom Thieves, and was trying to manipulate him. Akira just wanted to throw him off their trail, that was all. How did he not realize that sooner? It only made sense! After all, they were supposed to be enemies.

_ akechiiii _

He ignored the text. Whatever he had to say, it wasn’t worth listening to. He had something more important to do. He had to stop himself from caring about Akira. Normally, that would be hard to do, but he had a bit of a secret weapon.

He typed in the details of his palace and set off. He could force himself to not care, to do something that would hurt Akira, but he couldn’t do it immediately. He’d have to start with something that should be a bit easier. His cognition of Akira. He wasn’t exactly sure how palaces worked, especially when it came to anything other than mental shutdowns or psychotic breakdowns, but, surely if he got rid of his cognition of Akira, who acted so kind, he’d stop thinking of Akira that way!

It didn’t take long to find the cognitive version of Akira.

“Akechiii!” He called, pulling him into a hug. Akechi grit his teeth and just waited for him to pull away. “What’s wrong?”

“Shut up.” He muttered. He could feel his outfit change from his white one to his black one, Loki was up front, not Robin Hood. Good. He pulled out his gun, not his real one of course, that wasn’t needed here, just the cognitive one that looked almost identical, at least when Loki was up front. With Robin Hood, it was some sort of idiotic looking ray gun. He put the gun to Akira’s head, and forced himself to stare into his wide, scared eyes.

“Akechi?” His voice shook slightly. “Wh-what are you doing? Th-that’s not your prop gun. Also-”

“I said shut up!”

Akira shut his mouth, finally. Akechi took a deep breath, then another. He was lucky that there weren’t other shadows around right now who were trying to protect Akira. Okay, easy, just pull the trigger. He’s not even real, it doesn’t matter. Just move your finger. Squeeze the trigger.  _ Why aren’t you doing it just shoot already- _

“...You don’t want to shoot me.” Akira said, most of the fear gone from his voice and face. “You’re forcing yourself. Why?”

He couldn’t do it. He dropped the gun and slammed the button on his phone that let him leave. He  _ needed _ to leave.

He found himself back in his room, shaking and sweating. He couldn’t try that again. He would do anything else, as long as he never had to go through anything like that ever again.

But, killing someone else wasn’t killing Akira, and that… that he could do. As long as he didn’t directly hurt him...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, thanks for all the attention yall have been giving this fic! legit someone said this was their favorite fic and i almost cried. ur all the best <3


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some futaba content!  
> gotta love her

He had been following behind them for quite some time, ducking behind cover and staying in the shadows. They were in the palace of Kunikazu Okumura, it was a strange place that looked like a space station, and today, the Phantom Thieves were stealing his treasure. Akira, or “Joker” as he was called here, was leading the charge. Akechi hadn’t spoken to him in some time. He needed to distance himself, stop caring about him. So, he ignored any attempt Akira made at getting in contact. He just hoped that he didn’t see him here.

Akechi quietly waited for them to finish fighting Okumura’s shadow as the timer quickly ticked down. Not much longer until this palace would be destroyed, along with all of them. What would happen if they died in the Metaverse? Would their bodies be brought back to the real world, or would they be lost forever? It was important to think about, after all, Akechi might have to fight another Metaverse user some day.

_ Hopefully not them at least… _

He shook his head. It didn’t matter if it was them. He didn’t  _ care _ about them! They were just thieves. They were unimportant  _ trash. _ Hell, their leader lived in an attic. No one cared about them. They were all…  _ just like Akechi? _

Stop thinking, just focus on what you need to do. And, might as well help them before they die and bring him down with them. It was risky, but so was letting that timer run out, so he pulled out his Metaverse gun and fired a few shots at the robots from afar. The Phantom Thieves seemed too busy with the battle to investigate.

Soon enough, the Phantom Thieves were finished with the fight, took the treasure, and left, the space station beginning to crumble around them. They… weren’t taking Okumura with them? Were they not worried about it crumbling down on him and killing him? Maybe they didn’t know how the Metaverse worked, and that if Okumura’s shadow died, the real one would have a mental shutdown. If that was the case, they’d probably blame themselves for this, rather than thinking it was someone else. That didn’t matter. He just waited until they were far enough away, and pulled out his real gun that he had brought along. He didn’t know if it was necessary, maybe his cognitive one worked just as well for causing mental shutdowns, but, he wanted to have a different one, to distance how he normally was in the Metaverse from when he had to cause mental shutdowns.

Though, didn’t he come here most often for this kind of work?

He walked up behind Okumura’s shadow, took a deep breath, and imagined Masayoshi Shido. Pulling the trigger was easy then. He left immediately afterwards, so that the palace wouldn’t come crashing down on his head.

_ a-kech-i ✰ _

_ somethin really good happened tonight! _

_ cant say much about it, but we should go celebrate soon, okay? _

_ ill buy u fooooooood _

He clicked away from the messages, trying not to feel bad for what he had done. Was it wrong that he was only upset about the idea of killing because of how it might affect the people he cared about? Well, obviously it was  _ wrong _ , in the moral sense. But who cared about that? Still, it was worrying that he could so easily split people into those two categories, people who he cared about, and people who deserved to die. And he still wasn’t sure where he was supposed to put Akira. But, the rest of the Phantom Thieves, they were easier not to care about, right? He hardly knew most of them.

The next day, Akechi made his way to Akihabara. His portable charger had broken, and that was worrying. What if his phone ran out of battery in the Metaverse? Would he be stuck there? He needed a new one, needed to always be prepared.

In the same electronics store as him, Futaba Sakura was walking around, trying to stay calm. She wanted to keep getting better at going out, so she had been making short trips to different places on her own. Today was Akihabara. Even when the crowds made her uncomfortable, at least she could look at cool tech to calm herself down! Still, it was especially crowded today, and it was already a bit of a high anxiety day to begin with. She could feel it right away when she woke up this morning, but she still didn’t wanna give up her new daily routine! Still, maybe taking a small break would’ve been a better idea than to keep pushing herself endlessly.

Akechi could feel himself beginning to get nervous. He had gotten a lot better with crowds over time, but right now, he was on edge. Did he… did he still have…? He pat his pockets, trying to find it.

Futaba accidentally runs into someone, causing them to drop several things that they were carrying, she squeaks and scrambles back, stuttering out apologies. Her breath was too quick, too shallow, she was panicking.

Akechi walks down an aisle, still looking for the stupid portable chargers. How could they be so hard to find? Wait, was that Futaba? Was she okay?

“Futaba.” He said softly, walking over to her. She looked up at him with fearful eyes. She was hyperventilating. “Is it… too crowded?” He asked. She nodded. He sighed, he had been using it himself but… He pulled out a small fidget toy and handed it to her. “This helps me when my anxiety acts up.”

She grabs it and clicks away at the buttons. “Wait, you have anxiety?”

“I don’t know if I have anxiety or if I just get anxious.” He shrugs a shoulder. “Come with me, we’ll find a quieter place, okay?”

“Okay.”

She gently holds his sleeve as they walk. Wait, dammit, he was supposed to be distancing himself from the Phantom Thieves! He just couldn’t stop himself, he had to help Futaba. After all, they were siblings. Even if she didn’t know that. They walk to the area leading to the bathrooms, it’s a lot less crowded, and some of the noise is quieted somewhat by the walls of the hallway.

“Is this better?” He asks softly. She nods and squats down, still clicking away at the buttons of the fidget toy he gave her. The black and neon green colors of it suited her. “Do you not have one of those things?”

“No. I didn’t really need ‘em in my room, and I only started leaving it a little while ago.”

“Well, would you like to keep that one?”

She looked surprised. “Can I?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t have offered otherwise.” He smiled at her.

“Huh. Maybe you’re actually an okay person!” She muttered, sounding shocked. He had to laugh at just how blunt she was.

“I try. Now, maybe you could help me in return?”

She narrows her eyes. “How so?”

“I can’t find the portable chargers. Also, I have no idea which ones are good.”

“Oh, I can help with that!” She jumped up. She seemed to have calmed down a bit as she ran off, Akechi had to walk rather quickly to keep up with her. She seemed excited now, it was fun to watch. He hoped that she could keep being happy like this, even if some things went wrong for the Phantom Thieves.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kinda a short one this time! next chapter will be longer.  
> also how bout that new animal crossing  
> i might do a fluffy lil one shot about these nerds playing it together. maybe. let me kno if youd like to see that!

Kunikazu Okumura was dead, Goro Akechi hadn’t felt like himself in weeks, it was harder and harder to get out of bed. It seemed like everything was just going… wrong. But, despite all that, and despite the fact that he was trying to distance himself from the Phantom Thieves, he could still go to his favorite coffee shop, right? He’d just try to be in and out quickly, and not run into Akira.

It was going well, he got his coffee, he was enjoying the nice atmosphere, about to take a sip when the bell on the door rang. He didn’t think anything of it for a moment, surely it was just another customer.

“Honey, I’m home!”

Oh god it was Akira. Just, say something, try and end this quickly, leave as soon as physically possible.

“Well, you’re back awfully late.” He muttered and turned to Sojiro. Just talk to him instead, maybe Akira will go away. “How has business been for you lately?”

Sojiro lets out a short huff and motions his head in the direction of the empty booths. “Take a look around.”

Right. A bit of a stupid question. There was only one other person here, and he had finished his coffee quite some time ago.

“Is the Nijima lady doin’ well?”

Akechi stiffened. He doesn’t particularly care about Sae Nijima, she was more just… useful to him. But still, she was one of the only people he talked to regularly, and now he wasn’t even speaking to her anymore.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t seen each other lately. We had a… difference of opinion.” Okay, as good of a time as any to leave. Just get up and go right now. Just push past Akira and walk out the door.

_ “What are your thoughts, Representative Shido?” _

The voice came from the television, and froze Akechi in place. He sets his cup down, noticing how violently he’s shaking. The cup clanks noisily against the saucer as Masayoshi Shido’s voice plays in the cafe. In a place where he actually feels somewhat safe, of course Masayoshi Shido was here in some form to ruin it. He was talking about the Phantom Thieves, because of course he was. He noticed Akira stiffen slightly at the voice, and he looked like he was going to have a headache.

“That politician’s really honorable.” The other person in the cafe said. Akechi tries not to scowl at him, but he’s not sure how well that works out. Shido keeps talking, and Akira continues to stand in front of the entrance. Just go upstairs!

“What’re you starin’ off into space for?” Sojiro asked, crossing his arms.

“I-I’m fine.” Akira replied, but his face was pale and his eyes were a bit wide. He wasn’t fine.

“I’m not worried, you’re just blocking the entrance.”

_ Thank you! _ Yes, please go away! Shido says something about the Phantom Thieves being criminals.

“Criminals.” Akechi shook his head and let out a short and bitter laugh. “That must be how he sees it. However, it is ignorant of their true nature.”

“You’re… on the Thieves’ side?” Akira asked, looking genuinely surprised. Akechi coughed and rubbed the back of his head.

“It may be somewhat of a stretch to say that I’m on their side. But, I won’t deny that I do… empathize with them on some level.” What was he saying? Just shut up and leave! You’re supposed to be distancing from them, to not care about them, or feel any sort of empathy. “If this Okumura incident was not the Phantom Thieves… If they only change the hearts of criminals… Then, well, they may not be innocent, but, I don’t think they’re evil.”

Akira grinned and sat by him. “Are you a Phanboy?” He asked in a teasing tone.

Akechi actually laughs before he can stop himself. “It’s… strange. You’re easy to talk to, you know that?”

“I’ve been told.” Akira replied with a small smirk.

“Now then, I should be going. Um, perhaps I’ll see you at Shujin? I’ve been invited to a panel there, and I plan to go.” He stood and turned to Sojiro. “Thank you for the coffee, it was delicious.”

“Glad ya liked it.”

“It was nice seeing you.” He didn’t mean to say it, it just slipped out.

“You too! We need to talk more often. I’ve been worried about you.” His face and voice are so sincere, so caring… Was Akira truly not trying to manipulate him? Was he just that  _ stupid? _

Akechi could use that.

With that thought in his mind, he walked out, and planned his next move.


	22. Chapter 22

Akechi stood at a podium, trying not to show his excitement. He had a plan. He had everything worked out. He felt comfortable, in his element, for the first time in a while.

_ “Shido-san, I believe that I have figured out the identities of the Phantom Thieves. I can’t say for sure just yet, I haven’t gotten proof. But, I’m going to get some and confront them about it. I believe that I can find a way to… let’s say, I can convince them to make things a bit easier on us.” _

_ “And how do you plan to do that?” _

_ “If all goes well, they’ll believe that I’m on their side, I can learn about their methods, set a trap, and just gently lead them towards it.” _

_ A smile appeared on Shido’s face. “Hm. Yes, that could work quite well. Keep me informed, though, I’m sure you’ll do a fine job.” _

Masayoshi Shido was a horrible man, of course. He was Akechi’s enemy, of course. But… It still felt nice to be needed, to be appreciated. He was sure he’d do a good job, he’d have the Phantom Thieves in the palm of his hand. And then, he could use them for something important, he didn’t have to just lead them to a trap, they could be useful to him first. Shido didn’t have to know.

Makoto Nijima was to his right, and was speaking into a microphone.

“Well then, we will now begin today’s panel.”

Yes, the panel. He had to stay in this moment, to answer the questions. If he didn’t focus, he could say something that would come back to bite him later. They only had a few minutes before the time that he had asked Shido to call him, to give him a way out of the panel, a way to talk to the Phantom Thieves. He had to put them on edge in a short amount of time, to let them know that he knew who they were, before he revealed the pictures that he had with him.

Of course, Makoto immediately started asking about the Phantom Thieves. It made sense, it was undoubtedly what most students wanted to hear about. Still, it was hard not to grin, to throw out the pictures at that moment and respond to her questions with a  _ why don’t you tell us?  _ He doesn’t do any of that of course, he just answers her questions carefully, makes a few calculated jokes to the audience, and he waits.

“By the way, it seems you’ve denied a correlation between the Phantom Thieves and the mental shutdowns. Why the sudden change: Until now, haven’t you upheld your stance that the Phantom Thieves are dangerous? How are you so positive that they haven’t committed murder?” She asked. So many questions at once… And how was he supposed to answer that? He had to come up with something quickly, he couldn’t exactly answer with the truth.  _ I know they’re not causing the mental shutdowns because I am!  _ That wouldn’t exactly go over well.

“Aren’t you a little too comfortable interrogating people? Why, it’s as if you’re a prosecutor.” Compare her to her sister, that should throw her off balance for a second, give him just a moment to think.

She doesn’t even flinch. “Ah, excuse me. This is something I’ve personally been interested in, so I couldn’t help it.” She continues to press the question, she obviously won’t let up, and he doesn’t know if he can naturally stall for a long enough time.

“Every person whose heart they changed, they’ve all truly been criminals. That’s including Okumura. Why, then, was he the only one who needed to be killed? I can’t deduce a reason. So, I believe that case should be thought of as if a different party is responsible.” He said. Not much time left now, it was time to go in for the final punch. “And if the Phantom Thieves are who I suspect them to be, I can’t possibly imagine they would kill anyone.”

Now that got a reaction. After a moment, when everyone realized what he had said, it was like the air was sucked out of the room for just a second.

“Your comment just now… Does this mean the police have already identified who they are?”

“Oh, no. The police haven’t gotten that far yet. But I have my own conclusions about the Phantom Thieves.” He glanced over to Makoto, and while his eyes traveled over to her, he noticed some people standing up high, looking down at him. Akira, Yusuke, Ryuji, and Ann. They were too far away for him to see their expressions clearly, but he can tell one thing.

Akira was staring directly at him.

Makoto was silent. She hadn’t asked him anything else just yet.

“You’re not going to ask me who they are?” He was counting down in his head. Soon now.

“It may have repercussions on the investigation. Are you sure you can share that with us?” She was forcing her voice to be even now, and her hands are shaking ever so slightly.

“It’s only my personal opinion, so announcing that here wouldn’t pose a problem!” He replied, smiling like it meant nothing to anyone here. It was fine, just his opinion! No problem at all. “However, it’s possible that I’m correct in my assumption, in which case, you’ll all hear the truth before the police or the media!” He could feel the excitement building. Everyone wanted to hear what he had to say. Everyone was holding their breath, listening only to Akechi. Usually he wasn’t the biggest fan of talking to crowds but, this? This was nice.

“I’d like to ask you then, who do you think the Phantom Thieves are, Akechi-san?” Makoto clenched her hands into white-knuckled fists to hide the shaking. He paused, counting the seconds.

“They’re people you all know quite well.” He took a breath, looked to the clock, waited a moment... “The identity of the Phantom Thieves are-”

His phone rings, right on cue. He has to turn away so that the audience doesn’t see his grin. He pulls it out and looks at the screen.

“Oh, it’s mine. I apologize for the interruption, but I can’t turn off my phone due to my job. Would you mind if I step away for about… ten minutes or so?” He asked with an apologetic look.

“I’m terribly sorry, everyone, but we’ll be taking a break.” Makoto said to the audience.

“Please don’t troll me online for this interruption, okay?” ...Why did he say it like that? God. Whatever, people laughed at it, even if they were laughing at him, it helped calm the situation down a bit. He walks over to Makoto. “Is there a room that I can use?”

“There’s the PE faculty office.”

He nods and begins walking, while he does, he whispers, “I want you to come too. There’s a matter I want to discuss. Bring your friends.”

Her eyes widen and she looks over, suddenly realizing that he set this up.

In the PE faculty office, Akechi wastes no time. He throws the pictures he had with him on the table, grinning from ear to ear.

“No!” Haru’s voice is more of a terrified squeak.

“That’s obviously fake!” Ryuji said, but his shaking voice gives away how scared he feels.

“I have video footage too.” Akechi said, leaning against the table. “Let’s not feign ignorance. All of you can go to that other world too, yes?”

“Us too?” Akira asked. “Do you mean that you…”

“Yes, I can go to the Metaverse as well. I have the same powers as all of you. The power to use a persona. If you don’t believe me, we could go there right now and I could show you.” No one seems to want to take him up on that offer. “I found out about the Metaverse just a little while ago.” Well, depending on your definition of  _ a little while _ that could be considered a lie. That didn’t matter. He showed his phone, mainly, the bright red app on the homescreen. “This had been installed onto my phone without my knowledge.”

“The nav!” Ryuji gasped. He was so horrible at hiding his thoughts and emotions that it was almost comical. “Uh. I mean. Listen, cut the delusion bullsh-”

“All of you are acting as Phantom Thieves in the Metaverse, am I correct?” There’s silence for a few moments. Several of them look to Akira, wondering what he’ll say, what he’ll do. He took a small step forward, if he’s nervous, he’s sure as hell not showing it.

“That’s right.” He said. Akechi was thrown off balance for a second. He just… admitted it? Just like that?

“But, we didn’t kill anyone!” Haru shouted. He nodded to her.

“Yes, I believe that as well.”

“How can you be so sure?” Makoto eyed him suspiciously.

“Because, I saw the real culprit. He attacked me. I don’t know who it was, after all, he had a mask on. When he attacked me, I awakened to my persona.”

“I never suspected Akechi had a persona!” Morgana said. Right, now that they knew he used the Metaverse, there wasn’t really a reason to act like he couldn’t hear Morgana, was there?

“Morgana? Did you just… speak?”

“Yeah, Morgana is our teammate. He taught us about the Metaverse.” Ann said.

“Huh. Well, it is true that you all know things that I don’t.” He said, running a hand through his hair. “Say, Morgana, were you also the one who instructed them on how to change people’s hearts?”

Morgana nodded and jumped up on a box. “We go in the Metaverse to steal the core of someone’s desire! We call it their treasure. Then their heart changes.”

Akechi couldn’t help but feel bitter for a moment, so angry and jealous that it made his throat tighten and his head pound. Why the _hell_ didn’t he get a helper? Why did he just get an inaccurate description inside the app, one that made him hurt someone close to him, thinking it would help her? What the hell made them so special? Why did they deserve this and he didn’t?!  
He laughed hollowly. “There’s certainly no way anyone could figure out such an MO on their own.” There was no way Akechi would have ever figured it out. If he had known… Would things have turned out differently? Pointless. Completely pointless to think about. Stop thinking about it.

“Anyways! Are you sayin’ that this guy is the one who killed Okumura?”

“I can’t say for sure, but it seems like the most likely possibility. However, the police have decided that the Phantom Thieves did it. They’ll arrest you at this rate.”

Haru’s face went pale. “Th-they’re going to treat me as my father’s murderer?”

Akechi shook his head. “Not if I have anything to say about it. I want to strike a deal, so that I can save you from this situation. I would like you to cooperate with me on investigating the truth.”

“And, if we decline?” Yusuke asked.

“Well, then I’ll let everyone know about these photos! It’s quite simple.”

“That’s blackmail!” Ryuji shouted, stomping his foot hard on the ground.

“Say what you will, I’m doing what is necessary. Now then, Sae-san is the one running the investigation against all of you. People are impatient. They want the culprit apprehended. Sae-san can’t make rational judgments at the moment. She might make up a confession, falsify evidence, whatever it takes to get rid of the Phantom Thieves. If you’re caught for being Phantom Thieves, you’ll be treated as the ones behind the mental shutdowns.”

Ryuji and Ann screamed about how it was unfair, how they weren’t killers. As if that would change anything.

“I want to change things, to help you all, but I can’t do it on my own. That’s why I’m asking for your cooperation. Together, we will find the true culprit.”

“Can we have some time to think this all over?” Akira asked.

“Yes, of course. You don’t have to decide right now. I’m sure you’ll come to a favorable reply. However, I do have… One other condition.”

“Dammit there’s more?!” Ryuji growled.

“We’re running low on time, I’ll have to explain later, but, the short version is, I need you to steal someone’s heart. Now then, I really should be going. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to finish the panel.” He said and quickly walked out.

That last part of their agreement… He had been thinking about it all day as a possibility, but he didn’t plan on actually saying it. He couldn’t back out now.

He was going to ask the Phantom Thieves to steal his heart.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> google docs is ryuijiphobic cuz it put a red line under effin  
> also thank u all so much for over 4000 hits???? holy shit. yall are great

Goro Akechi was standing in Leblanc, he had to talk to the Phantom Thieves, they had to go over their plans. So much for distancing himself from them. Well, this would be more useful, and he still would try to distance himself emotionally at least. Makoto was the first to speak up, which wasn’t surprising. Even though Akira was the leader, he didn’t seem to talk much whenever there was a large group.

“When you say that you want us to cooperate with you, what exactly do you intend for us to do? And what did you mean when you said you needed us to steal someone’s heart?”

“Those are good questions, but might I have a cup of coffee first?” He asked. Makoto didn’t beat around the bush, and Akechi couldn’t handle that right now. He needed time, he needed to take this slow.

“Quit effin’ around!” Ryuji said. Well, he didn’t think it was that ridiculous of a request. Also,  _ effin’? _ He thought someone who looked like him would be more comfortable with cursing.

“Yes, we should just keep this short.” Makoto crossed her arms across her chest, looking slightly annoyed. But, Akira stepped behind the counter.

“I’m making you decaf.” He said with a smile. “Caffeine would just make you shake more.”

Was he shaking? Dammit, he was, just a bit. But how did Akira notice that?

“Well, let’s start with that first question. There’s a bounty for information in addition to the arrest warrant.”

“The police have nothing on us. There’s no way they can make an arrest.” Futaba said. She was kneeling backwards on a booth so that she could sit down and still be near the others, and see Akechi. Wasn’t she uncomfortable sitting like that?

He remembered Wakaba’s shadow. How she sat on the ground in what looked to be an uncomfortable position. Did Futaba get that from her mother?

Akira set a cup of coffee next to Akechi, the soft clinking of the porcelain snapped him out of his thoughts. Akira smiled at him, and Akechi felt the need to look away. He took a sip of the coffee and coughed, almost spitting it out without thinking. Futaba and Ryuji laughed at the expression on his face. Akira was usually quite good at making coffee, how did he mess up this badly?!

Akira grinned and laughed a little. “April Fools?”

“It’s October.” Akechi replied. He did this on purpose? Why? To mock him? Everyone giggled a little, and Akira pulled out a second cup.

“Here’s your actual coffee.” He said. “Just thought it would help ease the tension a bit.”

Oh. It was just to make everyone cheer up a little, to just laugh together and have fun.

“Ah! He actually smiled!” Morgana chirped. Akechi coughed and forced a serious expression.

“Um, yes, you are right Saku-”

She made a face before he even finished. “Futaba.” She said.

“Ah, my apologies. Futaba-chan?” He tried. She nodded. He wasn’t used to referring to people like that, but it was fine if it was for her. “But yes, I am the only one who’s ascertained your true identities. However, the groundwork for fabricating testimonies and concocting a culprit are underway, and that could be bad for all of you.”

“Obviously.” Ann said.

“I’ll just cut to chase. I think we should trigger a change of heart in Sae-san. I’ve already discovered that she has a palace.”

“Is this to prevent the investigation agency’s recklessness?” Yusuke asked.

“Precisely. I know it seems like we shouldn’t have to change her heart for this, but she will do it if we do not. And those around her will turn a blind eye to false evidence. Everyone’s priority is simply settling the situation, they don’t care who the culprit is.”

“They’re completely rotten!” Ryuiji’s voice came out as a growl, and he slams his fist against the table. Yes, we all know, please calm down about it now. It took all he had not to roll his eyes.

“My objective is to find the true culprit. That must be the case for all of you too. However, the current situation is extremely bad. Our only solution to this is to make Sae-san come to her senses. If she’s in her right mind, she will stop this situation. That is our top priority.”

“So, that’s the heart you wanted us to steal?” Haru asked, tilting her head.

“No. But, we can’t focus on that now. This is our current priority.”

“Well, it’s part of our deal right? We’d want to know all the details before we make a decision either way.” Akira said. “Even if it’s not our top priority, we’d like to hear it.”

He took a sip of his coffee, to stall, even if it was just for a moment. He couldn’t back out of this now. Even if everything in his body was telling him to run, he had to stay, he had to say it. He could feel all of them staring at him, waiting for what he was going to say. All of their attention was on him, they were hanging on to each word that he said. Usually, he’d love attention, but right now, it felt as if it was crushing him.

“Do you want your cube back? Would that help?” Futaba asked, holding out the little black and green fidget toy he had given her. He couldn’t help but let out a little laugh.

“A-Akira. May I talk to you in private?” He managed to ask, nervously tucking some of his hair behind his ear.

“Yeah, but if it’s about the Phantom Thieves, we’re gonna have to all hear about it. But, if you want me to tell them instead, I could do that.”

“Maybe? I don’t know. I’d just feel more comfortable if I talked to you alone first.”

“Yeah, okay, let’s go upstairs.” Akira nodded and walked up the stairs, motioning for him to follow.

His room looked different than Akechi had imagined it. Well, not that he had imagined it. Whatever, didn’t matter, stop thinking. He had glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. He looked up and focused on one, so that he didn’t have to look at Akira.

“Take your time. I’m not gonna rush you.”

It took a few minutes for him to get any words out. He could feel tears stinging his eyes. “I don’t… want to hurt you.”

He expected Akira to respond, to be confused, to ask questions, but he simply stayed silent and let Akechi continue.

“But… But I’m scared that I’m going to. Like, how Sae-san is generally a good person, but she’s not in her right mind right now. I’m in… a similar situation.” He said. “I’m… not a good person Akira.”

“I don’t want to interrupt you, but I’m going to disagree.” Akira said.

“I have a palace.”

“So did Futaba! She’s not a bad person. It just means you have a distorted view. And that’s okay! Everyone does a little bit.:

“I want you to steal my heart.”

“Is it so you can feel better about yourself, or because you don’t want to be the person you are right now?”

“Is there a difference?!” He didn’t mean to sound so angry.

“...There is. Akechi, maybe I’m wrong, I hope I am, but it doesn’t feel like you’re doing this for the sake of feeling better. It seems like you want to do this to kill who you are now.”

“And what’s wrong with that?!” He did mean to sound angry this time. It pissed him off how Akira could just see right through him, how he could tell something was wrong, how the tricks he used on others just didn’t work on him. He hated it. Akira grabbed both of Akechi’s hands, and gently squeezed them.

“Because I  _ like  _ who you are now.”

The words echoed in his head, and he stared at him, feeling confused, feeling angry, feeling sad. He liked who he was? Why? How? He tried to shoot him. Sure, it was only in his head but… How could Akira care about someone like him?

“Listen, if your distortions are so bad that you have a palace, of course we’re going to help. But at the same time, it won’t change everything about you. You’ll still have to put in a lot of work to change who you are and how you think about yourself and the world. Stealing your heart just gets you started, that’s all. The rest is on you. But, we’ll be there for you for that too.”

“It seems like it didn’t require a lot of extra work for most of your targets.” He muttered.

“Because we were interested in making them confess their crimes Akechi, because they didn’t feel guilty for what they did. We just made them feel guilt.” Akira said. “But, you’re not like them. You don’t have anything to feel guilty about.”

Akechi could feel tears stream down his cheeks, and a bitter laugh escape from his mouth. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Maybe I don’t. But, I’m choosing to trust you.” He lets go of his hands, and slowly, carefully, puts a hand on his cheek, like he’s scared that Akechi might run away if he does it too suddenly. “And, if we go into your palace, we’ll know a lot about you. You can’t hide anything in there. So, you’d have to trust us too.”

Akechi makes a face, and Akira lets out a small laugh.

“I know, I can tell that trusting people can be… pretty hard for you.”

“I trust you.” He spoke before thinking it through. He didn’t mean to say it, and Akira can probably tell that by the shocked expression he wears after saying it. Akira looks just as surprised. “I don’t know why. I’ve actively tried not to.”

“Akechi.” Akira’s smile is so bright, so genuine, so wonderful… “I’m glad you can trust me. I’m… I’m really glad. And, you can! Like, it’s okay that you do! You don’t have to try not to. No matter what, I’m going to be there for you okay? You don’t have to worry.” He looked at Akechi’s face. “...You look like you need a hug. Is a hug okay?”

He nodded and pulled him close. Akira gently rubbed his back, softly humming a song that he didn’t recognize.

“Akira? C-can you tell them? Instead of me?”

“Of course. And, hey, right when we’re done finding Sae’s treasure, we’ll start finding yours, got it? We do need to do Sae’s first, just for our safety, but that doesn’t mean you’re not important. You’re one of the most important people in my life.”

Did he mean that in  _ that _ way? Was Akechi thinking too much into this? He was struggling with accepting that he thought about Akira that way, he couldn’t even begin to accept that Akira felt the same. But, he was already putting all his cards on the table. They’d know everything he didn’t want them to know soon, it would all be in his palace. Wouldn’t he rather at least let him hear  _ this _ from his own mouth?

“This is… stupid. Please don’t laugh.”

“I’m sure it’s not. And I promise I won’t laugh.”

“I know we don’t really know each other that well, we’ve only known each other for a few months, and I’ve treated you badly sometimes, and I’ve just ignored you and…” He took a deep breath. It felt like he was pacing, even though he was standing still. “I know I’m not a great person. But, you make me want to be a better person. Even when, that kind of scares me. Basically, I… I just… I lo-” He coughs and shakes his head. He can’t say that. Can’t say those words specifically. “I care about you. A lot.”

“Um, I just wanna make sure I’m not interpreting this wrong. Do you mean like…”

“I don’t mean like just friends. And I’m sorry, I’d just, rather you find that out from me telling you, rather than maybe finding it out in my palace. That’s all. Sorry for putting you in this awkward position, you don’t have to say anything back, I wasn’t asking for a response, I just wanted you to know and-”

“Akechi!” Akira laughed.

“You promised you wouldn’t laugh!”

“I know I know, I’m sorry, but, like, chill!” He couldn’t stop his laughter as he hugged him tighter. “Just chill for two seconds! Stop putting yourself down before I have a chance to say anything!”

“Fine. Then say what you’re going to.” He braced himself, preparing for hearing about how he was just  _ so _ sorry but he didn’t feel the same way at all and actually he didn’t even want to be friends, in fact he probably just  _ hated  _ Akechi and-

“I love you too you dork.”


	24. Chapter 24

Akechi walked back down the stairs. He had let Akira go down first, to explain that they’d be going into Akechi’s palace. Akechi didn’t want to see their reactions, to have them look into his eyes when they heard that he needed  _ help _ . He couldn’t handle that. But, there was still more to talk about.

“There’s one other part of our deal that I need to bring up.” He said, not looking any of them in the eyes. “Once the culprit behind the mental shutdowns is caught, I want you all to disband.”

Most of them looked surprised. Not Makoto though, she seemed to know that this was where this deal was heading, as expected from her. But, it wasn’t like they had much of a choice. If they refused, Akechi would tell the police about them, and they’d be arrested and forced to disband that way. Surely, this would work, right? If they stopped being the Phantom Thieves, they’d stop being a threat, Masayoshi Shido would stop caring about them. If he did it quick enough, he could stop Shido and the police from hunting them down.

_ He could keep them safe. _

They agree to the deal, of course they do. He tells himself that he knew they would, but at the same time, he could cry from relief. They’ll head to Sae’s palace soon, it would all be okay. Everything was going to work out. They were going to be safe.

Before they went to Sae’s palace, Futaba snatched his phone from his hand, happily talking about how she was so jealous that he had a nice phone. Akira raised an eyebrow at her, seeming curious about what she was doing.

Akechi immediately thought about how he had planted a bug on Makoto’s phone. Was… Was Futaba doing something similar? No, these were his teammates now, he had to try to trust them. Futaba was just excitable and liked technology, that was all.

“Ah, right, you need a code name.” Makoto said softly when they arrived at the palace.

“Yeah! Using your real name’s not allowed!” Ryuji said. Everyone’s code names mainly seemed to be based on how they looked with their outfits.

“Um… Crow.” He said. He realized his mistake a second after he said it.

“Are your clothes all black or something?” Ryuji asked.

“Ah, the reverse actually! You know, the opposite of how I look, since it’s to hide our identities?” Please buy it please buy it…

“Oh, cool!” Ryuji said. Thank god.

He’d have to constantly be careful here, to make sure that Loki was never in front. If his appearance changed, they’d be immediately suspicious of him, and it could ruin everything. That should make this whole thing stressful, shouldn’t it? But…

This was the happiest he’d ever felt.

So  _ of course _ it wouldn’t last. Of course, just a few days later, he was talking to Shido on the phone, thinking that this might just be able to go well, when all of his hopes came crashing down.

“So, they will disband, and no longer be an issue for us!” He said. Shido was silent for a long time.

“It would be…  _ better _ … If we didn’t have to worry about them at all, don’t you think?”

His mouth went dry, and his hands instantly started shaking. “I can understand that. But… is it really necessary?”

“Yes.”

Shit shit shit, it was? Why? Dammit! What was he supposed to do? He couldn’t say no! This was all he had worked towards for so long. He couldn’t risk losing Shido’s trust now, not when he was so close.

“I can’t cause a mental shutdown in them. They don’t have palaces.” He said.

“Even if you could, I don’t think that would be the best way to do this. If they died from mental shutdowns, then we couldn’t really say that they were causing them, now can we?”

“Then, what’s your idea Shido-san?”

“Well, if we have the police catch them, that would be ideal.” He said. Oh thank god, just arrested? That wasn’t ideal at  _ all _ but- “Then an… accident could happen. After all, with suspects as dangerous as them, they’d be taken somewhere special for interrogation. Perhaps the Phantom Thieves would commit suicide.”

“I don’t think I could get all of them arrested that easily-”

“Then just work on capturing the leader.”

_ Dammit! _

“Understood. So, would he steal a guard’s gun?”

“Yes, that would work well.”

_ Dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit- _

“I can do that. I’ll keep you posted.” He said, trying to not sound as scared as he felt. He hung up as quickly as he could. What the hell was he supposed to do? Fake Akira’s death?! As if that would ever work. And he couldn’t just give up on his plan to kill Shido. So, there was only one thing he could do.

He had to kill Akira, Shido, and then likely himself. It made the most sense in his mind. He had no plans for anything after that.

“Akira!” Futaba called, running into his room. Her face was full of fear. “I  _ know _ you told me not to, but I bugged Akechi’s phone-”

“Yeah I could tell.”

“And! And it’s really bad!” She nervously hopped from one foot to the other. She shoved her phone into his hands. “Listen!”

A recorded call was played, of Akechi talking to… someone. Someone with a familiar voice. Akira couldn’t quite place it though. As the call played, Akira sat down, taking his glasses off and trying to calm his shaking.

“He’s just trying to trick us! I told you! I can just tell!” Futaba said.

“But… But, this can’t be real…” He muttered, shaking his head. This had to be some sort of mistake. He trusted Akechi. Just a few days ago he told him he  _ loved _ him! Didn’t he mean it? “He’s being manipulated by the other person, he has to be!”

“I mean, maybe, but what’s most important is staying safe!”

“No.” Akira said. “I mean, yes, that is important, but we also have to help Akechi! We have to do both.”

“How?”  
“We’re going to go in Akechi’s palace and change his heart, so he won’t kill me, and so we can help him! And then we’ll make sure to protect him from whoever is manipulating him!”

“Do you really think that’s the best idea?”

“I don’t know, but it’s the best one I have right now. It’s late right now, and I think the others are busy today, so it’ll just be you, me, and Morgana scoping out the palace, okay?”

“Obviously we’ll be fine with just me and you fighting!” Morgana said with a proud smile.

“Still, we should try and avoid enemies even more than usual. We’ll be nice and stealthy!” Futaba said.

“He already told me the keywords for his palace, so we can get going right away.” He tapped them into his phone, and the three of them were brought into the Metaverse. He looked to Futaba and saw her appearance flickering back and forth between her normal clothes and her Phantom Thief outfit.

“Joker! Your clothes keep switching!” She said.

“Yours too. It seems like he doesn’t know how to feel about us.”

“Luckily my form works a bit differently!” Morgana said with a grin. He was fully in his Phantom Thief form, like he was when they first entered Sae’s palace. Futaba called Necronomicon down and hopped inside.

“Be careful you two! If things get too intense, we can always just leave.” She said before floating Necronomicon back up. Akira nodded to her and walked around the theater, looking for a back entrance of some sort.

“A theater huh? My bet is we’ll find the shadow version of Akechi on the stage!” Morgana suggested.

“Most likely. But, then that kind of ruins our stealth, doesn’t it?”

“Right! We’ll have to try and lure him away if we need to talk to him.”

Akira looked up at the back wall. “Open window.” He said, pointing to one that was rather high up, before immediately starting to climb, Morgana following closely behind.

“This looks to be the third floor.” Morgana said, climbing in the window with Akira. “...Huh?”

The inside of the theater looked like it had been destroyed by a natural disaster, and it was still crumbling.

“Akechi’s mental state must be really bad right now!” Morgana squeaked, jumping back a bit so he wouldn’t fall down. Akira stepped closer and peered down the holes, looking at the floor below. There, he saw a familiar head of orange hair.

“A cognitive version of Futaba. I assume that the cognitive versions of the rest of us are close by then.” He said it quietly, but apparently not quietly enough, as she looked up at him. Her eyes were red and puffy. She had been crying. Sure, it was just a cognitive version of her, but it was still Futaba… Akira hopped down. “What’s wrong?”

“I hate this play.” She said.

“Why’s that?”

“Cuz! I have to watch it every single day. I have to watch my mom die, every day!”

Akira’s eyes widened. “Why is that part of this…?”

“I knew it. He’s gotta be the one behind the mental shutdowns!” Morgana said.

“I hate Akechi! I wish he was dead!” The cognitive Futaba shouted. “I’m glad he’s playing the bad guy now! He should’ve never played the good guy!” And with that, she ran off.

“Oracle, did you hear all that? Are… are you okay?”

“D-did Akechi really kill mom?” Her voice came through his phone, small and sad.

“We don’t know for sure, but it’s possible.” Akira responded. He hated accusing Akechi of that, but it just seemed more and more likely...

“Then, let’s steal his treasure for sure…” She said with a sniffle. “Sorry. I’m gonna be okay. We can keep going.”

“Okay, but if you can’t, you know you can te-” He began to say, before the floor split and splintered under his feet, and quickly gave way completely. He shouted as he fell through the floor, Morgana falling by his side.

“Joker! Mona!” Futaba yelled, climbing out of Necronomicon so she could more easily run over and look down the hole.

Akira was worried that he was going to fall on a hard floor, and injure himself badly. He made sure to hold Morgana, so that he could fall on him. Hopefully Akira could break his fall a bit, and then Morgana could heal them… He shut his eyes tight and readied himself.

What he wasn’t ready for was falling on something that felt impossibly soft. It didn’t hurt at all. He opened his eyes and saw first the oversized down pillow he had landed on. A few black feathers had come out with his landing, and were now gently floating in the air. He looked up and saw someone standing in front of him. He was wearing an elaborate white and blue costume, it looked a bit like Akechi’s Phantom Thief outfit, but slightly off. It had some stripes, some black feathers, and he wore a clawed gauntlet on one hand. His other hand pulled off the cracked mask he wore, to show bright yellow eyes and a wide smile.

_ “Now what do we have here?” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so. we're following akira for a few chapters now instead of Our Boy Akechi.  
> don't worry. we'll get back to him before too long


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> akechi and akira have "treating futaba like a lil sister because she's the best" solidarity

“A-Akechi?” He didn’t know what he was expecting from Akechi’s shadow, but this wasn’t it. The plastered on smile, the dead eyes, the cruel claws on one hand... Was this how Akechi saw himself?

Akechi clicked his tongue as he looked the two of them over.  _ “The thieves are here. Though, I expected there to be more of you.” _ His voice echoed slightly and sounded strangely loud and clear. It was as if he was always talking into a microphone.  _ “Shall I show you to the treasure?” _

“Huh? Just like that?” Morgana asked. Akira was hesitant. This was like Futaba’s palace, and when they followed her shadow, she led them into traps. She understandably didn’t fully trust them yet, and her mind represented that through the traps in her palace. How bad would those sort of traps be in Akechi’s palace? Surely Akechi trusted them a lot less than Futaba did at first.

He remembered how Akechi had said that he trusted him, how he did despite trying not to. He grit his teeth. He was so  _ stupid.  _ Why did he think Akechi was telling the truth? He had been suspicious from the very beginning, and yet, he chose to trust him. He put his friends in danger.

_ “Yes, just like that! I don’t want you snooping around, so I’ll get you in and out as quickly as possible.” _

“Wait, Joker-” Morgana began.

“You’re still trying to close yourself off?” Akira asked. “Akechi, if you’re hiding behind your walls so much, that’ll manifest here, and we won’t be able to get to the treasure!”

Akechi frowned, it was as if a switch flipped, completely changing who he was.  _ “Fine.”  _ His voice came out as a hiss.  _ “If you don’t want it to be easy, it doesn’t have to be!”  _ With that, he turned away and stormed off.

“Um, Joker-” Morgana said.

“Come on Mona, we should look around.” Akira sighed and walked off in the opposite direction.

“Joker!” He shouted, stomping his little foot on the pillow. “Listen to me darn it! I was gonna tell you, Akechi’s treasure was his mask! I could tell!”

“Wait, it was his mask? But, if that was the case, why could we see it so clearly? It’s supposed to not be clear until we send our calling card, right?”

“That’s how it’s supposed to go… Which means, he must’ve expected us to steal the treasure today specifically.”

“But, that doesn’t make sense, why would he think that?”

“I have no idea, but it means that we have to steal it today. It’s our only chance. It’s like we sent the calling card already!”

“Dammit… Mona, you head on out, okay? Try and get the others, we’ll need their help to clear this all out in one day. I’ll try and make some progress while you’re gone.”

“Okay. But, be careful, and retreat if you have to!”

He gave a nod, and Morgana ran off.

“Okay Futaba, you ready to get going?”

Her response came through the phone. “Yep yep! Just make sure you don’t fall down another hole! You two had me worried there!”

“I’ll do my best.” He said as he began to head forward, hiding behind walls, ducking behind furniture, and staying out of sight.

“Ya ever think it’s funny how we hide in shadows to avoid shadows?” Futaba asked quietly. “Don’t get ‘em mixed up or you’ll end up hiding behind a Jack Frost to avoid dark spots.”

“I’m trying to sneak, don’t make me laugh.” He replied in a whisper.

“I’m giving you extra challenge. You’re on hard mode!”

“I don’t remember picking that. Can I switch to easy?”

“Can’t get the true ending if you’re on easy mode.” She giggled. Sure, it made stealth harder, but he couldn’t  _ not _ talk to Futaba. “Safe room up ahead!”

He quickly walked in, and found a costume closet. The image shifted and blurred, and for a moment he saw… Leblanc? Was that really where Akechi felt the safest, and where his distortions bothered him the least? If that was the case, then surely not everything Akechi said to him was a lie, right? It was hard to tell. Was all of it just to manipulate him, so that he could kill him? Did he actually care about him at all? He found an answer in an unlikely place. Right outside the safe room.

When he walked out, he almost ran into something. Or rather, someone. He was the same height as Akira, same haircut, same face, only the clothes were different. The cognitive version wore more ornate clothes, and was dressed a lot less like a thief and a lot more like a hero from a storybook. It was… weird to see another version of himself, to say the least. The cognitive Akira smiled happily.

“Joker!” He said.

“Um. Hello.”

“I’m glad you’re here. Where are the rest of the Phantom Thieves?”

“They’ll be here soon.”

“Well, you shouldn’t be alone. So, I’ll help you. But, it’ll be a bit difficult. See, things have changed a lot lately! Originally Goro played the role of hero, I played the first villain, and Shido played the last villain! Then, Goro was the hero, Shido was the villain, and I was the damsel in distress he had to save! And now, I guess, I’m the hero, Goro is the villain, and Shido is still the worst villain.”

“Shido? Masayoshi Shido? That politician?”

“Yes! He’s the worst, no matter what, at least, according to Goro. He won’t tell me much about it.” The cognitive Akira said. “But, who knows? All these roles could change again tomorrow. But, we’ll do our best with them. Now then, you wanted to learn more about Goro, right?”

“Y-yeah. I need to know if he’s the one behind the mental shutdowns.”

“Well, then you should watch the play! I can get you nice seats up high, where no one will bother you.” He said and started walking, motioning for Akira to follow. Did Akechi really see him as this helpful? It was nice, but Akira didn’t really feel like he acted like that. He just did his best. He followed the cognitive version of himself to an empty theater seat, high up, looking down on the stage. The cognitive version then ran off as the play started.

Masayoshi Shido was Akechi’s father, and Futaba’s as well. Akechi wanted revenge on him because he blamed him for his mother’s suicide. He worked with Shido to gain his trust so that he could betray and kill him. Shido was the one who asked Akechi to cause the mental shutdowns. He didn’t want to cause them, he didn’t want to kill Akira either, he just felt like he had to, because this revenge was the only thing that he was living for.

Akira learned all of this from the play.

“J-Joker… Was that all for real…?” Futaba asked. She had been watching it from Necronomicon.

“Yeah… I guess Akechi is your half-brother.”

“Is that why he gave me that cube? ...Now I got two sorta brothers spoiling me.” She said.

“Between us you’ve got like seventy-five percent of a brother.”

“Is it bad that we’re joking about this? Shouldn’t we just kinda be in shock?”

Akira shrugged. “Coping mechanisms are weird. Anyways, we know what we need to know.”

“Yeah, let’s wait for the others and then try and get that treasure!”

Akira nodded and carefully crept out, back to the safe room. There, he saw all of the Phantom Thieves, minus Futaba, Akechi, and himself of course. Morgana’s ears perked up and he smiled.

“Joker! There you are! We just found this safe room! How about that for progress?” He crossed his arms and smiled proudly. Futaba laughed loudly.

“Mona you dork, we’re already mostly done! We just gotta get the treasure!” She said.

“...Oh.”

“So, what’s the deal?” Ryuji asked.

“Well, Akechi’s my half-brother!” Futaba said. “Also he did the mental shutdowns, but it was cuz some stupid adult took advantage of him when he was in a really bad place!”

“For real? Damn, did you find out who?”

“Masayoshi Shido.” Akira said. “Once we take care of Sae’s palace, we’ll go to his. I haven’t checked, but I guarantee he has one.”

“Mona said that the treasure already appeared, so we have to go get it now, right?” Ann asked.

“Yep!” Futaba said. “It’s his mask that he carries! Everyone ready?”

They all nodded.

“Alright then.” Akira said with a small smile. “It’s showtime.”

It didn’t take long to find shadow Akechi. He smiled at them, a wide smile that didn’t reach his eyes at all.

_ “The Phantom Thieves are here to take my treasure! How wonderful.”  _ He laughed, clasping his hands together.  _ “Well, I really have no reason to fight you, so, here you are!”  _ He handed the mask to Akira.

“Wait, that’s all? Well, this was quite easy.” Yusuke said.

_ “Now then, you should all go.” _

“Before we do, Akechi, your life has value and meaning. Beyond just getting revenge.” Akira said. “So please, don’t hurt yourself.”

Akechi’s smile disappeared, and he pulled out a gun, placing it to Akira’s forehead. There was that sudden change again. But, Akira didn’t flinch.

“Joker!” Ryuji shouted, pulling out his own gun. “Dammit, get back Akechi!”

“Preparing a guard!” Futaba called.

“We should retreat.” Makoto said.

“You don’t want to shoot me.” Akira said, forcing his voice into a calm and even tone. “You’re forcing yourself.”

Akechi’s face softened for just a moment, and then he fired.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy wow. it means the world to me that yall like this fic so much and keep interacting with it. love you all ;u;

Akira found himself falling to his knees in his room at Leblanc, breathing heavily and shaking. His ears were ringing and it felt like he had been punched in the face. He looked up and saw Ryuji, squating down to be at eye level.

“Shit man, you okay?”

“I blocked it, so he shouldn’t be hurt.” Futaba said. “And I mean, it doesn’t look like he got shot.”

“He shot me.” Akira muttered, his voice quiet and distant. “He actually shot me.” He looked to his hand, no,  _ no! _

“The treasure’s gone.” Makoto said.

“I-I must’ve dropped it! We have to go back and-”

“Woah woah woah! You almost got shot dude! I mean, you did get shot! Futaba just barely blocked it! If it hadn’t been for that, you’d be dead right now!” Ryuji shouted, he looked so scared.

“But, Akechi’s treasure was materialized today, so it might not be tomorrow. We have to steal it today!” Morgana said. “But, I agree, going back at this point would be… a bad idea.”

“We have to help him though…”

“We can try at a later time, right? We didn’t even send a calling card.” Yusuke suggested. Morgana nodded.

“I’m not sure how well it’ll work, but I think that’s the best idea!”

“Mona-chan, why was Akechi-kun’s treasure materialized today?” Haru asked.

“Well, he must’ve thought that we were going to steal it today. For some reason, he was completely sure of it!”

“...We tried to steal his heart because of the call we heard.” Futaba said, pacing back and forth and gently tugging on her long hair. “So, if he knew we heard the call, then it’d make sense that he’d think that we’d steal his heart today! What if he knows that I bugged his phone?”

“I suppose that makes sense. I can’t think of another reason why he would be sure that we would try to infiltrate his palace today.” Yusuke said. “But, if he knew that you were listening in, why would he have that call?”

“Ugh, who knows? None of this makes any sense.” Ryuji scratched the back of his head and shrugged.

He could have known that the phone was bugged, and still had that call anyways? Well, he seemed like he didn’t expect the call to go that way, but still, he could’ve stopped, he could’ve called Shido on a different phone… Did he want them to hear that call? Why would he want that…? Would he… want them to come up with a plan? To stop him? To steal his heart right away? Maybe he was just thinking too deeply about this, but it seemed like this was a way for him to ask for help.

“We should just rest, okay?” Futaba said. “I’m so tired…”

“I’m not tired, I can go back and-”

“Akira, no.” Ann crossed her arms. “You look like you’re gonna pass out.”

He sighed heavily and rose to his feet before just collapsing back, falling on his bed. He didn’t mean to, his legs just couldn’t hold him up right now. He hated to admit it, but he was exhausted.

“You should get some sleep. Everyone else, you should head back home!” Morgana said. “We’ll try again another day.”

He blinked once. He had to stay up, he should head back to Akechi’s palace. He blinked a second time, and when he opened his eyes again, it was the next morning.

He sleepily reached over to his phone, typed in the info of Akechi’s palace, and pressed enter.

“This palace is not currently available.” A mechanical voice called out. His eyes widened and he tapped the button again.

“This palace is not currently available.”  _ Tap. _ “This palace is not c-”  _ Tap. _ “Thi-”  _ Tap. _ “This palace is not currently available.”

What did that mean? Why wasn’t it available? When would it be available again? Did this mean that they couldn’t help Akechi?

“Morgana it says the palace isn’t available.” Akira muttered softly.

“Yes I heard.” Morgana sounded sleepy and annoyed. “I don’t know why, I don’t know everything about the Metaverse after all. Maybe the palace needs time to return to the state it was in before the calling card? Well, we didn’t send a calling card this time, but you know what I mean.”

“So, I guess we really do need to take Sae’s heart first…”

“Seems that way. We should start working on a plan for what will happen afterwards, so that Akechi won’t just kill you. But lucky for you, I have an idea.”

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense.”

Goro Akechi was standing in front of his sink, fiercely scrubbing at his bleeding hands. He had been too stressed, clenched his fists too much, he had broken through skin. This was why he usually wore gloves, and of course, he doesn’t just for a bit, and this happens. Just stop thinking, stop feeling, stop  _ caring _ . Close your heart completely, when did opening up ever do any good?

Akira Kurusu was nobody, he was nothing. He didn’t matter. He heard his phone ring and quickly dries his hands before answering, not bothering to look at who was calling. Who cared?

“Akechi.” Of course it was Akira.

“Kurusu.”

He paused, his shock was obvious even over the phone. “...You didn’t even call me that when we first met.”

“What did you call to tell me?”

“We’re going into Sae’s palace this afternoon, if you’re available.”

“I am. Now if that’s all, goodbye.” He hung up before he had the chance to say anything else. It hurt. Why did it hurt? Stop caring.

Akira didn’t put Akechi up front in the team anymore. He was always on the sidelines. It seemed that he trusted him less now. Was it possible that his suspicions about Futaba bugging his phone were correct, and that was why? Perhaps Akira heard his call with Shido. Perhaps they had all heard it and were coming up with some sort of plan, a plan that meant Akechi could fail, but not make it seem like it was on purpose. A possible win win. Everything could work out-

No. He shouldn’t hope for that. It was childish and stupid to believe that things would go well. He just had to prepare himself for when they inevitably ended up going badly.

It was some time later, and Sae-san’s palace was finally coming to a close. They had stolen the treasure, and Akechi had brought the necessary people into the Metaverse. They were going to capture the leader of the Phantom Thieves. Akechi was going to be a hero, one who got rid of these horrible villains. And, as stupid as he knew it was to be happy about this, Shido would also be proud of him. He wished that didn’t bring him any joy. He wished that he could fully and completely hate him and everything that he did, but for some reason, he just couldn’t. He still just wanted validation, love, attention, anything positive from his father. And then he wanted to kill him. That was worth not having Akira around more.

_ It had to be. _

In a few hours, he’d be out of here, Akira would be arrested, and Akechi would shoot him in the head. It was that simple. There was nothing else to it, no emotional component. Thinking about it was exactly the same as thinking of the weather. Just a boring fact of life, but something he had to account for. But he didn’t care about it.

It didn’t feel like a few hours. It felt like a few minutes. This was happening too fast. He needed more time. He needed to prepare. He couldn’t be talking to Sae in the hallway yet, this couldn’t be real. She spoke, but he couldn’t understand a word. She was holding out a phone, motioning to it, making more noises that Akechi just couldn’t understand. He was on autopilot.

He said something back, it was satisfactory, she left. His head spun and his vision blurred. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t even focus. He glanced to the guard. He apologized in his head for having to involve him in this. He wasn’t a part of this at all, and yet he’d have to die.

Everything was a bit hard to focus on, a bit blurry, a bit dreamlike. There was no plan, there was no last second change, there was only what he had to do. He had to focus on the here and now, no matter how hard it was to.

He grabbed the gun and shot the guard. Akira flinched at the noise of the gunshot, and looked up at Akechi, for once breaking his calm demeanor, for once showing fear.

“You don’t have to do this.” He was a mess. Bruised and beaten and looking so exhausted. Akechi almost let himself feel bad for him. “Goro, we want to  _ help-” _

“Shut the hell up.” He was clenching his teeth so hard that he swore he’d bite through his own jaw. “And don’t call me that  _ Kurusu _ .” He stressed it, watched as Akira’s eyes widened slightly, still shocked to not be called by his first name, before he looked down. He was silent. Akechi placed the tip of the gun to his forehead. He didn’t move an inch.

“What, is that it?” He raised an eyebrow. “Just we want to help, and then utter silence? You’re not going to panic, to beg for your life, you’re not going to do fucking anything?” He can’t conceal his anger. Why was the silence so much worse? He’d rather have him scream and fight and say that he hated him. “Aren’t you scared?”

He looked back up at him, tears forming in the corners of his eyes, but a shaky smile on his face. “I’m terrified. I don’t want to die. I was an idiot to trust you. There, are you happy? Can we get this over with?” He said it in such a rehearsed tone. Like lines for a damn play.

“No. Maybe I just don’t want you to be fake for two seconds, maybe I want to know the real Akira Kurusu for just a moment before I kill him.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“Do you really think taunting the one with a gun to your head is a good idea?”

“Well, I don’t think it’s a  _ bad _ idea.”

“And why is that?”

He makes eye contact, his expression turns serious. “Because you don’t want to shoot me. You’re forcing yourself.”

Akechi feels his throat constrict and his hand shake. Why did he have to say the same thing that the cognitive one had said? He couldn’t shoot him then, and that wasn’t even the real him.

“Akechi.”

“Don’t say a damn word.”

“I just-”

“I said shut up!”

“I still love you.”

He pulled the trigger before he could even think about what he said, about how it made him feel. If you want to think, do it after he’s dead. And he did think about it. He thought about turning the gun on himself and emptying it of every last bullet. He thought of screaming. He thought of shooting him again. He thought of saying that he loved him too, that he loved him so much and that he was so scared and alone and he hated himself and he was so  _ sorry _ and he already regretted it and please forgive him and-

He stopped thinking.

“Goodbye.” He said before walking out, not letting himself look back.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is kind of a long one, but i didn't wanna split this stuff up. so yall know, this isnt the last chapter! i realize that it can. kinda seem like that.  
> i didnt cry while writing this. shut up.

Morgana was right, the palace only needed some time to go back to normal. After a few weeks, typing in the details of Akechi’s palace didn’t give the usual message of the palace not being available.

“We’re going back to Akechi’s palace.” He said.

“Huh?” Morgana squeaked.

“It’s available again, and I’m tired of watching the news and hearing about how I killed myself. So, let’s head in there. Not to steal the treasure, I just wanna scout it out.”

“Alright, but let’s make sure to be careful!”

The two of them jumped into the Metaverse, and found a different sight than before. Instead of seeing a theater with a long line, there was just a concrete wall, impossibly tall, surrounding where the theater once was.

“Well, this is kinda obvious isn’t it? He’s just shutting everyone out.” Morgana sighed and ran around the wall, looking for any sort of foothold to climb up, any sort of door to go in, any weak point. Akira did the same. And yet, there was nothing, just a smooth, flawless slab.

“There’s nothing.” Akira walked over and shook his head. “We’d have to change his cognition to get in.”

“Well, we can’t really do that. You still have to play dead.”

“I know. Let’s just get out of here.”

He was faking it he was faking it he was faking it he was faking it-

It took time to realize of course, but Akechi wasn’t an idiot. He noticed that things didn’t add up. The phone, the feeling of that whole situation, how Akira said the same thing that the cognitive one did… He knew deep down that they had been listening to his calls, that they had been planning something to try and stop him. He thought it would be more obvious, but this was smarter. Surprisingly smart for them.

Akira was almost surely alive. He didn’t know how to feel about it. He settled on just being surprised, and not letting himself think on it further.

If they were listening to his calls,  _ shit _ , he had said Shido-san, hadn’t he? And they might have been to his palace already, and that undoubtedly mentioned Shido by name. Dammit, god  _ dammit. _ They couldn’t change Shido’s heart. He couldn’t let them. Shido deserved one thing, and that was an unexpected and horrible death. If Masayoshi Shido felt guilt for every bad thing he’d ever done, he would likely welcome death, and Akechi didn’t want that. He wanted him to  _ suffer. _

He couldn’t just kill Shido now either, the time wasn’t right. But it was so close. Why did they have to ruin it now? He’d have to stop them.

It had been a month since he had seen Akira last. For the past several days, he had just been waiting in Shido’s palace, keeping an eye out for any sign of the Phantom Thieves. He didn’t like being here. He didn’t like having to be alone with his thoughts for hours on end. Especially his thoughts about the Phantom Thieves. His frustrations with the world would just all attack him at once, until he felt nothing but rage. Nothing was fair. Where were they? Why did his life have to be like this? Where were they? He wanted to destroy something.  _ Where were they? _

Then, he saw a flash of movement. They ran past, and he looked down at them. They were heading to a dead end, they’d have to come back to get anywhere. He had time to prepare himself.

_ Think happy thoughts, you’re still a hero, you’re getting rid of villains, the worst of the worst. _

The red tint to his vision disappeared as he switched from Loki to Robin Hood. No more black mask, he looked just like he did when he helped them. He didn’t know why he bothered, they already knew who he was. Why bother hiding Loki from them? Pointless, stupid, they already saw him as a villain, right? Why then did he not want them seeing that he saw himself as one too?

He was out of time, they were running back to where they came in. They looked slightly worn down. Had they gotten into some sort of fight? Well, that would make them easier to take down. He stood to his feet, trying to be as silent as possible, but it seemed to be pointless. Akira stopped moving, and he looked over, his dark eyes widening. Akechi frowned, so annoyingly perceptive.

He jumped down, making sure to land carefully. No sense in getting himself hurt right before a tough fight. He tried to put on his usual act, and give his nicest smile, but he could tell it didn’t work. It ended up as more of a grimace.

“Long time no see.”

Akira stepped forward, what the hell was his expression supposed to be? Was he… happy to see him? What an idiot. Akechi wanted to move back, away from him, but no. He would hold his ground.

“You truly are interesting…” It was supposed to come out like an insult, but it sounded too genuine. “Under different circumstances, we could have been great rivals, or perhaps even friends. I-if we had just met a few years earlier.” Why was his voice shaking? Why was he saying this…? Stop caring, stop doing anything other than hating them.

“Akechi, it’s not too late. You don’t have to think about what ifs. We can just make it work, here and now.” Akira reached his gloved hand out. Akechi expected that to hurt, expected to want to cry but, he didn’t feel anything at all. He couldn’t help but laugh.

“How  _ wonderful. _ ” He spat the words out. “You don’t allow yourselves to be enslaved by such things as human relations or past selves… And so, your heart is always free. The exact opposite of mine. To be honest, I envy you.”

“Akechi! Why are you cooperating with Shido? Don’t you see what his palace looks like?! His true nature-” Makoto began.

“I’m well aware. But frankly, I don’t care about Shido or the country. All this is only to make Masayoshi Shido acknowledge me before I exact my revenge on him.”

“Your father.” Futaba said. He was thrown off balance for a moment. So, they had been into his palace. But then, why would Makoto ask that question?

“Shido is his father…?” Yusuke asked. Akira gave a small nod. Akira and Futaba were the only ones who didn’t seem shocked. So then, was it just those two who went into his palace? Well, no wonder he felt no change of heart. It was stupid to go in with only two members of the team, and only one that can fight.

“Yes. I am his bastard child. My very existence is nothing but a scandal.” He said. “I… assume you found out that little fact from my palace?”

“Yeah. We… weren’t able to steal your treasure. But, we can still help you. You just have to let us in. Right now, your palace is closed off to us.” Akira said.

“Well, perhaps right now, I don’t want to change! I’m so close to getting my revenge on Shido. I’ve been planning this since my mother died. Ever since I learned about the cognitive world! Ever since someone, be it god or demon, gave me a chance to be something more than a cursed child! Soon, I, an utter disgrace to the world, will prevail! I will kill Masayoshi Shido with my own two hands!”

“You’re the only one who thinks of yourself that way.” Akira said, almost shouted, but it didn’t reach Akechi at all.

“In just a few weeks, I would’ve done it, but you all just had to interfere.” He took a few deep breaths, calming himself down. “It’s okay. I can still take it back though! I just have to kill you all.”

“As if we’d die for something like that. You talk big, but you’re really nothing more than a little kid throwing a temper tantrum!” Morgana said. Oh, he could punt that cat off this ship and feel nothing. He couldn’t understand how he felt. None of them could.

“Don’t lecture me you piece of shit.” He growled and pulled out his sword. Akira let out a sigh, realizing there was no choice but to fight. Akechi wouldn’t accept anything else.

“Let’s finish this.” He sounded so tired, so upset, so regretful. Akechi could hear two shadows appear. Ah, well that would make this easier.

“Kill them.” He said, as if they would listen to his commands. “Now then, let’s make this a bit tougher, and show you a bit of what I can do!” He quickly used Loki’s power, to cause a psychotic breakdown in the two shadows. He only had him there long enough for that, no more. He wanted to use Robin Hood for this. “Amazing isn’t it? How even the feeblest existence can gain tremendous power once the chains on its heart are broken.” He stepped away, just let the shadows kill them. Not because he didn’t want to kill them, it was just easier, that was all.

Their teamwork was amazing to watch, as much as he hated to admit it. Those shadows didn’t stand a chance when they all worked together like this. He stepped forward once both shadows were dealt with.

“Tch. Well done. Now, let’s get to the real fight!” He targeted Akira first. Might as well get the hardest one out of the way first. He saw him stumble as the holy magic hit him. Die, just die, just let this end already. He felt his fingers go numb from ice magic, felt the unbearable heat of fire magic, and felt an electric shock course through his body. None of it mattered, it wasn’t important. Just kill Akira. Why the hell wasn’t Akira attacking him? Why was he holding back?! He ran at him with his sword, and slashed at him, only for Akira to jump out of the way.

“Fight me for real! Why the hell are you holding back?!” He hissed.

“Because I don’t want to hurt you too badly.”

“Don’t underestimate me you piece of shit.”

“Don’t underestimate me either Akechi.” He said, his face serious. He couldn’t tell what kind of attack he used, or even the persona, but Akira attacked, knocking Akechi flat. He was still holding back. He was trying not to kill him. 

He tried to rise to his feet, but just ended up on his knees, looking up at the Phantom Thieves. They were all looking down on him. As always.

“I’ll kill all of you.” He said. “You’re all gonna die!”

“Will you stop already?! You’re fighting the wrong people! We both hate the same guy! We shouldn’t be fighting!” It was that blond girl, Ann. As if it was that simple. As if he didn’t also hate all of them.

“Killing us won’t make you happy.” Makoto said. As if that was his goal. As if he cared about happiness.

“This ain’t about what Shido says! You’re your own person! You gotta know that!” That idiot Ryuji shouted. How foolish. No one was their own person. Everyone was being controlled and manipulated, or they were the manipulator. Akechi punched the ground, the shock of the impact shooting up his arm. Perhaps he had punched a bit too hard.

“Damn it!” He shouted.

“Akechi, you’re my brother! I don’t wanna fight you! It doesn’t matter where you start over, you can start over right now!” Futaba said. Stupid, stupid, they were all so  _ stupid. _

“And, you don’t really hate Joker, do you? You care about him. You said so. I heard you two talking about it in his room.” Morgana said. “You two love each other! There’s no reason to fight like this!”

He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t handle this. He had to kill Shido. He wanted to go with them. They wouldn’t let him kill Shido. He wanted to kill them. He wanted to cry.

“Even if you think people don’t want you around-”

“Shut up! Shut up! Stop talking!” He was screaming. “Love?! Please!” He let out a short bark of a laugh as he finally managed to rise to his feet. “To hell with all of that. I hate you all. I was  _ so _ particular about my life, my grades, my public image, so that someone,  _ anyone _ , would want me around! And yet, no one does! But for you all, you don’t even have to fucking try! How the hell am I inferior to you all?! How do you have things that I don’t?!”

“We want you around-” Akira stepped forward, too close. Akechi shoved him back.

“Don’t give me that bullshit! Stay the hell away from me!” He saw the arm he pushed him with, the sleeve turning black and blue, before flashing back to white.

“A black mask…” Yusuke muttered, his eyes wide. Well, so much for trying to keep Loki out of this.

“Haha… Well, I didn’t necessarily want to do this, but I guess I’m going to have to try my hardest against you all. Let’s see how far I can go with this…” Nothing mattered anymore. He already felt like he was breaking apart, so why not break apart the chains restraining him? “I’ll show you the real me. Loki!”

Loki appeared above him, and his clothing changed, staying in its black and blue coloration this time. He had never used Loki’s power on himself before. But, if it made the shadows stronger, than surely it would make him stronger as well. He’d be stronger than all of them. Stronger than Akira. The columns of red and black surrounded him for a moment, and he could feel his heart beating faster. It felt like everything was moving in slow motion, or rather, that he was processing everything faster.

“Let’s see you drop dead one at a time, in front of your precious friends!” He talked too loudly, hurting his throat, he wasn’t even aware of what he was saying. He fought more recklessly, there was no attempt to make a strategy, to keep himself alive, all that mattered was destroying them. Ann was the first to go down, though it was clear she was just unconscious, not dead. Yusuke was next, taking an attack meant for Akira. Stupid, stupid,  _ stupid. _ Why would you take an attack meant for someone else? Because you’re all teammates? Idiotic. Pointless. Worthless. They should all die. Ryuji came after, finally he would shut up. Just Akira on the front lines now. He could do this.

“Joker! Here, I’ll charge you up!” Futaba called, as Akira was surrounded by some strange glow.

“Sorry about this Akechi.” Akira said and ran forward, carefully knocking him to the ground, still holding back, still trying to hurt him as little as possible. And yet, still able to knock him down so easily. His mask cracked as he was knocked down, of course he wouldn’t even get to hide his face. Of course things would go this wrong. This wasn’t fair…

Akira checked on his teammates, helped them up, of course he wouldn’t do that for Akechi. Just for his  _ teammates. _

“You ready to call it quits?” Ryuji asked, wiping some blood away from his mouth. He wanted to keep being mad, but Loki’s power wasn’t long lasting. It was just short and intense, and it was running out.

“Yes, I’ve had enough.” Akechi muttered, not bothering to stand. He was too exhausted, in every way. Akira walked forward, and reached out his hand again. He laughed. “You’re all… so lucky. Lucky to have each other. And once Shido confesses his crimes… you’ll all be heroes. I’ll just be the villain, as I was always supposed to be. In the end, I couldn’t be worth anything…”

Akira shook his head and kept his hand held out. “It’s such a shame that you can’t see how you really are at all…” He said with a sad smile. “Akechi, you’re smart, you’re strong, people like you, including me.”

“You’re an idiot. I tried to kill you.”

“Yeah I know. But, Makoto and Yusuke both almost got me in trouble with school and with the police.”

“That’s not even close to the same thing.”

“It’s similar. I don’t blame them for it, cuz they were being used by selfish adults. I still wanted to help them, and I wanted them to be part of the team. It’s the same for you. You should come with us.”

“Wh-what…?” How was he supposed to react to that? What was he supposed to do? “You all are truly beyond my comprehension.” He grabbed Akira’s hand, and let him help him to his feet. Akira’s smile was blinding, but his hands were shaking badly. He had been so scared that Akechi wouldn’t want to come with them, that he would refuse, and just continue trying to kill them.

“Joker! Akechi-kun! Look out!” Haru called, pointing behind them, to their left. Akechi looked over, and saw… himself. He was holding a gun, and he had dead eyes.

“Captain’s orders.” The cognitive version said, his voice monotone.

“Ah. I figured he had some sort of way to protect his palace so that I wouldn’t just kill him.” He muttered. Of course, of course things couldn’t go well for two seconds. The Phantom Thieves pulled out their weapons, and the cognitive Akechi rolled his eyes.

“So stupid. Do you want me to kill you all first? ...Tell you what, you guys are all about helping others right? How about you volunteer to take his place and die? You’re all just like me! I’ll die for our captain!”

How disgusting… Shadows appeared around them, and Akechi shoved Akira away, back towards his friends. Stay away from the shadows, don’t get hurt. Not for a piece of trash who didn’t matter.

“Here, I’ll give you one chance, shoot them and I’ll let you live.” The cognitive Akechi said. Akechi took a deep breath, looked at his surroundings. There was only one choice. He pulled out his gun and pointed it at Akira.

“Akira. I… I love you. I never said it before, did I?” He moved the gun quickly, and shot the cognitive version, then, he moved it again, and shot the faraway red button.

“The watertight bulkhead door has closed. All personnel within the partition wall, evacuate at once.”

“No.” Akira said, his voice strained and breathless. He looked so panicked. Akechi managed a smile as the door closed.

“Hurry up and go, all of you!” He shouted, hoping his voice would travel through the metal door. “Please, change Shido’s heart! End his crimes! Please!”

Finally, a response, confirmation that they could hear him.

“I promise.” Akira said, he could hear him crying.

“Now go!” He said, looking to his cognitive self. “Goodbye. I’ll miss you.” He whispered that. He was scared. He didn’t want to die. But, it didn’t seem like he had much of a choice. It didn’t seem like he ever did.

“Bastard.” The cognitive version of himself growled before firing a shot.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys. i just wanted to give u some links to my stuff on other sites yeye  
> https://llavender-prince.tumblr.com/links  
> so if u wanna see me on tumblr or other sites, consider checkin that out. i'll update it with new links as i find more places to post my art and writing!

What happens if you die in the Metaverse? Akechi had pondered the question many times. Sure, he was stronger than most shadows, but there was always a chance. Injuries always disappeared upon leaving a palace, however, the pain and the exhaustion often remained.

What would happen to the body? Would it remain in the Metaverse, or return to the real world? He didn’t know which he would prefer. If he was thought missing, would people search for him? If he was found dead, would people mourn? Well, they may search for or mourn the Detective Prince, but no one would miss Goro Akechi.

He really was ready to die at that moment, he had accepted it. Shido may not die, but a change of heart was better than nothing. That was the only reason he was still alive, right? Just to get revenge? There was nothing else that gave his life any meaning. In a way, he almost welcomed the shot. Part of him had been wanting this for a while. So, he closed his eyes and didn’t bother trying to fight back in any way. What would be the point?

He was knocked back, and collapsed on to something soft. Wait, with where he was standing, shouldn’t the shot have pushed him against the large metal door? What around here was soft? He opened his eyes and saw a darkly colored ceiling. There were iron bars on one side, and a wall made of blue velvet on the other. Well, it had certainly been a while since he ended up here. He was so young then.

“So, trickster, it seems you have failed.” The deep voice rang out as Akechi sat up on the bed. He had a splitting headache, and he felt extremely tired.

“So, is this hell then?” His voice sounded… dead, for lack of a better word.

“I suppose my chances of winning are now slim to none. I expected you to best him.” Igor talked, mostly to himself. “It seems that I chose the weaker fighter. Though, I still have some tricks up my sleeve.”

“Hate to interrupt, but why exactly am I here? Are you just going to tell me that I failed and then send me on my way to whatever comes after I die?”

“Yes. It is important to know when you have failed a mission after all.”

“And what exactly was my mission? You didn’t help me at all! Even the help on the navigator was all a lie! It made me give my aunt a mental shutdown! You never gave me any advice, it’s like you wanted me to make mistakes, to end up being who I am!” He shouted. Igor remained silent. “I don’t give a shit about you, or whatever you want. So, just get me out of here.”

“...Hm, well then. Goodbye.” Igor said, seeming slightly irritated, and the world around Akechi faded to black. He expected it to stay that way forever, to just fade away into nothingness, but that wasn’t the case. He could still… feel. He felt the soft material of sheets under him, the gentle breeze of a fan, and the pain of a headache.

He opened his eyes and saw his room. Why… why was he here? He moved his hand in front of his face and slowly moved his fingers. Yes, he could still move, still breathe, it was as if nothing happened. He gingerly touched his forehead. Nothing. No bullet hole, no blood, no sign of injury. However, it did  _ feel _ like he had been shot. It was the most pain he had ever been in. But, he was alive. Was that what dying in the Metaverse did? It just sent you back to the real world?

He was supposed to be dead. He hadn’t planned for anything else. How was he supposed to feel? What was he supposed to do? Call Akira on the spot, tell him he was alive? He was likely still in the palace, and wouldn’t receive his call. Besides, wouldn’t they all be better off without him around? He could still follow the plan, they hadn’t sent the calling card yet after all. He could kill Shido today, before they had a chance to change his heart.

Trying to move showed that no, he in fact could not kill Shido today. He couldn’t even sit up. What was he supposed to do? Go to a doctor?  _ Yeah I died in another world can you check to make sure that doesn’t have any weird effects? _

This was all so stupid, it would just be so much easier if he wasn’t here. He wouldn’t have to think about any of this…

Akira Kurusu was in shock. There had to be some sort of mistake right? This couldn’t be real, right? Why was this happening? What did he do  _ wrong? _ He went through the motions, securing the route to the treasure as always, but he couldn’t pay any attention to any of it. He knew that was dangerous, that he had to constantly be on alert, or risk losing someone else… But, here he was, unable to do much of anything. He hadn’t even spoken since saying that he promised Akechi they’d steal Shido’s heart. When his teammates asked if he was okay, if he wanted to leave, he just ignored them. He just forced himself to move until they left the palace and ended up back in Leblanc.

“Good work today everyone. I’ll contact you all when it’s time to send the calling card.” He muttered, standing up, intending to get away, to go anywhere that wasn’t here, only to be stopped by someone grabbing his arm. He looked over and saw Futaba, staring up at him with her eyes full of tears.

“We can’t act like that didn’t happen…”

“Th-that idiot… We coulda fought those shadows and saved him if he let us!” Ryuji grit his teeth and clenched his hands into tight fists.

“We wouldn’t have been able to defeat them.” Makoto shook her head. “He knew that.”

“Hey uh, what happened?” Sojiro asked, walking out from behind the counter and sitting on a stool.

“A-Akechi-kun… he…” Haru tried to explain, but her voice trailed off and she shook her head.

“He protected us from some strong foes, but he… he perished as a result.” Yusuke said, holding himself and looking to the floor. They all were aware that the Metaverse was dangerous, that they were often fighting foes that had the ability to kill them all, but they didn’t think about it, not until now. It seemed like Sojiro hadn’t been focused on the possibility either.

“Th-that kid died?”

At that word,  _ died, _ Akira could no longer hold back his tears. Akechi was dead. He was dead and he would never see him again.

“D-do you really think it’s a good idea to keep going into that world then?” Sojiro ran a hand through his hair, looking nervous.

“We promised him we would change Shido’s heart. We have to.” Akira replied. “We’ll be careful, we promise. And, Futaba doesn’t fight, so she’ll be safe.”

“I’m not just worried about her, you know that. I don’t want any of you kids getting hurt.”

“We’ll keep each other safe. We’ll never let something like this happen again.” Makoto said. “We’ll stick together, so that we don’t get overwhelmed, and we’ll be sure to pace ourselves.”

“Yeah! We’ll be okay boss.” Ryuji said.

Sojiro sighed. “So… About Akechi… What should we do?”

“Not much we can do. We can’t exactly tell anyone what happened to him.” Ann said. “I-it feels wrong to not do anything about it, but, we don’t have much of a choice.”

“Sadly, yes. All we can do is change Shido’s heart like we promised.” Morgana said.

“We’ll send the calling card tomorrow. The sooner the better, right?” Akira suggested.

“Do you really think you’ll be alright to do it so soon?” Haru asked.

“I’ll be fine.” It came out a bit angrier than he meant it too. “Sorry. I just… I just want this to be done as soon as possible, okay?”

“I can understand that. Then, we shall send it to him tomorrow, this will be our best calling card yet.”

“I’ll get to work on it right away.” Futaba said.

“I’m going to go up to my room.” Akira pushed some hair behind his ear and started to walk, but was stopped again.

“No you’re not. You shouldn’t be alone right now.” Sojiro crossed his arms. “Why don’t we all eat dinner together at the house tonight? You can stay there for tonight too, if you’re okay with sleeping on a couch.”

“...Okay. Thank you.”


	29. Chapter 29

Shido had been taken care of, all that was left to do was leave the palace. That shouldn’t be hard, even if they couldn’t just warp out when they had the treasure. All they had to do was make it to the beginning of the palace, that was all. But the ship was going down fast, and where the beginning of the palace used to be was now at too sharp of an angle. They couldn’t stand there.

“As long as we’re in the general area, it should be fine! So, we just gotta get a lifeboat down there!” Morgana shouted. “How do we lower the lifeboats?”

Akira pointed to a lever, rather far away. There was no way they’d be able to make it in time. What were they supposed to do?

“I got this.” Ryuji said, hopping from foot to foot. “I can get to it the fastest.” He looked over to the worried faces of his teammates and gave a grin. “I’ll be fine. Don’t look so worried.” And with that, he took off. He ran as fast as he possibly could, and he managed to jump and grab the lever. The lifeboat lowered, and the rest of the Phantom Thieves managed to climb aboard.

“Hang on!” Yusuke shouted. “We’re coming!”

“I’m gonna punch him when we get him!” Ann said. “That was so reckless and stupid, I thought I was going to have a heart attack!”

“He did it though. That’s our Skull.” Futaba said with a smile. “He’s reckless and stupid, but he gets the job done.”

They maneuvered the boat by Ryuji, with Morgana helping to direct them. “Okay, right here! We can exit from here, we just have to get him now.”

“Alright, let’s-” Akira began to speak, but was interrupted by a loud explosion. It sounded like it came from… right above them?

“Ryuji…?” Ann muttered.

“...H-his signal’s gone.” Futaba said.

“N-No! He has to be okay!” Haru shouted.

“We need to leave. There could be another explosion any second.” Morgana said, shaking his head. “There’s nothing else we can do.”

This couldn’t be happening again. There had to be something that they could do! Akira couldn’t just accept this… But, Makoto hit the button that let them return to the real world, and the world around him dissolved.

Akira looked around him, maybe Ryuji would be somewhere, just fine... 

“Th-this can’t be real. We all promised we’d stay safe. He has to be okay.” He muttered. “I can’t lose anyone else…”

Ann collapsed to her knees, sobbing loudly. “R-Ryuji… I knew it was a bad idea…”

“Ow, shit. That hurt…” A voice, off to the side of them, Akira looked over and saw Ryuji, sitting on the sidewalk. He had just suddenly appeared, and it seemed like he was barely hanging on to consciousness.

“Ryuji?! You’re okay!” Ann shouted and pulled him into a hug. “You idiot… I was so worried…”

“Yeah, I can tell.” He muttered with a pained laugh. “You were cryin’.”

“Shut up. I’ll punch you.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I will!”

“What in the world happened? How did you escape?” Yusuke asked, offering his hand to help him up. Ryuji shrugged.

“Dunno. Thought I was dead for sure. Kinda feels like I died honestly. Don’t think I’m gonna be able to stand.”

“Maybe death in the Metaverse works differently than how we thought?” Morgana muttered, pacing a bit. “In any case, we’re really glad you’re okay Ryuji!”

“Okay’s a bit of a stretch. I think I need to see a doctor.”

“Lucky for you we happen to know one.” Morgana said with a smile.

“Here, I’ll carry you.” Makoto carefully lifted Ryuji, who made a surprised noise.

“I knew you were strong but damn…”

“I’ll call her while we’re going over, just to make sure she’s not busy.” Akira said, pulling out his phone and dialing Takemi’s number.

“He doesn’t seem to have any injuries.” Takemi said, scratching the back of her head. “And, it seems like something really stressful just happened to all of you… Maybe it’s psychosomatic?”

“Psychoso-what?” Ryuji asked.

“Basically, you think you’re hurt, so you feel hurt. So there’s nothing wrong with you physically, but your cognition is a bit messed up.”

“...Yeah that would make sense.”

“Just try and get some rest and calm down a bit, yeah? You all seem really stressed. If it keeps hurting this bad, give me another call.”

“Thanks Takemi.” Akira said.

“That’ll be one million yen.”

Akira rolled his eyes. “It was funnier the first time.”

She laughed and walked out. “See you kids later.”

“I, uh, still don’t think I can get up. I asked my mom though, and she said I can stay here tonight.”

“Hope you’re okay with curry for breakfast tomorrow.”

“Course! Just, no coffee please.”

“Morgana, is it possible for a dead person to have a palace?” Akira asked, lying in his bed and looking over at the curled up cat.

“Of course not!”

“So, if you can access a person’s palace, then they’re alive for sure?” He looked to his phone, at the details that he had just typed in before asking his first question.

“...You’re thinking about Akechi aren’t you?”

“If death works differently in the Metaverse, then he might be okay, right?”

“He might be, but he also might not be. We don’t really know!”

“I’m going to check. I’m not going in the palace right now, I’m just checking.” He muttered, mostly to himself, as he checked the palace’s availability.

_ “This palace is available.” _

“Wah, hey! Where are you going?!” Morgana squeaked as Akira stood up and threw on a coat. “It’s three in the morning!”

“I need to go see Akechi.”

“At least change out of your pajamas first!”

Akechi’s mind felt hazy. Surely he had gotten up at some point over the past few days, to eat and drink, but he didn’t remember it at all. It felt as though he’d done nothing but stare at the ceiling for almost a week. He didn’t feel physically bad anymore, but emotionally it was quite a different story. He wanted to just stay in his room until he died, just have this be his final resting place.

_ Huh. So that was how Futaba felt. _

Thinking about the Phantom Thieves did nothing to help him, it only made him feel worse. Surely when they were being kind, they were just saying whatever they needed to, so that he would no longer be a threat. They had to actually hate him, it was the only thing that made sense. He had made their lives so much harder. He brought them nothing but pain. If they cared about him, they were all truly more idiotic than he could ever hope to comprehend.

There was a knock on the door. Who was here? What time was it even? He glanced to the window, it was jet black out. Who would be here so late?

“Akechi?”

Oh god, it was Akira. Why was he here? As far as he knew Akechi was dead!

“Akechi, if you’re awake, please open the door.”

Akechi found himself shakily rising to his feet, walking over to the door, and pausing. Should he open it? He could just wait until he left…

He heard a small sob from the other side of the door. “Please be okay…”

He wished he was completely heartless, that he could hear that and feel absolutely nothing. But, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop caring about Akira. So, he opened the door. Akira’s teary eyes widened as he stared at him.

“You’re really okay!” He shouted as he threw his arms around him. Akechi stiffened.

“Yes, well, I suppose you can call this payback for when you pretended to be dead.” He was so… close. His first instinct was to run away, and his second thought scared him even more. Because he thought,  _ it’s okay, you can trust him. No matter what, he won’t hurt you. _

“I was so worried… I could kiss you right now.” He laughed, he sounded so stupidly happy. Why would he say something like that. “That was me very subtly hinting that I want to kiss you, but I don’t know if you’d be okay with that, so I wanted to ask. But just asking seemed awkward, but now that I have to explain this, this seems even  _ more  _ awkward-”

Akechi rolled his eyes. “All your charm just completely disappears when it counts doesn’t it?” He asked. “Yes, you can.”

Akira smiled warmly before pulling Akechi into a kiss.


	30. Chapter 30

“How in the world did you figure out I was alive?”

“Well uh, Ryuji sorta died? But he was fine. So, I figured it could be the same for you. And your palace was still available.” Akira moved into the room and sat down on the couch.

“He  _ what? _ ”

At his question, Akira immediately started to cry. Akechi was shocked, he had never seen him cry before. He had heard him sob through the metal door, but he had never seen tears gather in his eyes and immediately pour down his cheeks, like he had been holding this in for much too long.

“He  _ died  _ to save us right after you did and I couldn’t save either of you and I don’t know what I’m  _ doing _ -” He inhaled shakily and held himself. Akechi wasn’t sure what to do, he wasn’t exactly the best at comforting people, especially when he wasn’t doing well himself.

“You always seem like you know exactly what you’re doing though. I don’t get it, you’re always so confident and you always have a plan!”  
“I’m faking it like a good ninety percent of the time.” He let out a shaky laugh and took off his glasses, wiping the tears away from his eyes. “I gotta act like I’m a good confident leader, right? Can’t show how nervous I am literally all the time.”

“But, your teammates, they’re all about helping each other aren’t they?” He tried not to sound bitter, though he wasn’t sure if he succeeded. “They’d likely be glad to help you.”

“I don’t know, whenever I hang out with any of them, I just want to help them instead. Their problems are all more serious, you know?”

“I don’t.” He responded, his voice flat. “You’re being an idiot.”

Akira looked surprised, but then laughed hard, more tears filling his eyes. “Sorry, sorry.” He said between laughs. “It’s just… it’s just so funny how… honest you are when you’re tired. Like, no dancing around it, just, bam I’m an idiot.”

“Well, you are being one right now. Let your teammates help you Akira.”

“You know, you don’t have to say  _ your teammates  _ like you’re separate from them. Once a Phantom Thief, always a Phantom Thief. There’s no escape from us.”

“Ah yes, because what you really need is a  _ second _ nervous wreck who pretends to know what he’s doing.”

“Akechi. None of us know what we’re doing. You think too highly of us. We’re just a bunch of weird traumatized kids doing our best. That’s all.”

That gave Akechi pause. He thought too highly of them? He didn’t know if that was right. Sometimes it was true, but other times he hated them, thought that they didn’t know what they were doing, that they were all idiots. Why did his feelings about them have to be so contradictory?

“I want to be with you still. I want to help you. I want you to be a Phantom Thief. You’re perfect for the group.”

“You’re doing it again. Helping others instead of ever thinking of yourself. You say you want to help me, and sure, I guess I probably need help. But you do too. Let me help you. But, not right now. I can’t do anything right now.”

Akira smiled and stood up. “Well, then I’ll help you for now. I’m not doing it to avoid thinking about myself, but just cuz you need it right now. And later, you can help me. For now, you need something to eat.”

“We changed Shido’s heart, he should confess his crimes soon. I know it… wasn’t exactly the result you wanted, but-”

“It’s better than nothing. Besides, I asked you all to do it.”

“Well, only because you knew we wouldn’t kill him, right?”

“Yes, but still, this can be good. Everyone can despise him, and he can despise himself. He can  _ suffer. _ ”

“You sound like Ann.” Akira laughed. “She didn’t kill Kamoshida because she thought him having to live with his crimes would be a fate worse than death.”

“...Really?” Akechi was surprised. Was he really so similar to the Phantom Thieves?

“Yep. But, what I was going to say was that we always have a celebration after a change of heart. Would you want to celebrate with us? Sae and Sojiro will be there too.”

“I don’t know if that would be a good idea…”

“Well, if you change your mind, I’ll text you when it’s happening, okay?”

“Okay.”

“It seems like he isn’t coming… I was hoping we could watch this with him.” Akira muttered as Shido’s speech started playing on Leblanc’s TV.

“I mean, he could still show up! Maybe he’s just takin’ a little while.” Ryuji suggested, trying to cheer him up.

“I think he’s gonna show up.” Futaba said with a nod. “Trust me. He’ll be here.”

Akechi was walking around outside, a knit hat pulled over his head, partially to protect from the cold, mostly as a small way of hiding who he was. He was telling himself that he just went outside for some fresh air and a change of scenery, that was all. Certainly not to go to the celebration that the Phantom Thieves were having. That would be childish and stupid. He wasn’t waiting and constantly checking his phone for Akira’s text, he wasn’t pacing around nervously and wondering if they didn’t want him to come after all, and he  _ definitely  _ wasn’t excited.

And since he wasn’t excited, and he didn’t even really want to go, maybe he’d show up a bit late, just to prove that.

As he paced around the city, he noticed more and more people gathering to hear Shido’s speech. Well, if Akechi left at this point to head to Yongen, he’d miss a significant portion of it. So, he’d head there afterwards. Besides, that way it didn’t seem like he wanted to go. He stood in the crowd and looked up at the screen, waiting and allowing himself to have hope and be excited for this moment, the moment that he had been waiting for ten years. Sure, it was different than he imagined, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy it.

“My election is the result of every citizen’s aid. Your support warms my heart!” Akechi tried not to gag. Just get to the change of heart already, no one cares about this part. “That is why… That is exactly why I cannot forgive myself!”

The crowd started murmuring, and the two standing next to Shido began to look worried. Akechi had to hold himself back from cheering.

“The reason President Okumura passed away is… I am the one who killed him. I also manipulated the information that the Phantom Thieves were behind the series of incidents.” The crowd was shocked and panicked now. Akechi felt just as shocked. There was no mention of him, Shido had said it like he was the one who went to the Metaverse. That didn’t make sense. Wasn’t the change of heart supposed to make him say the truth of the matter, to confess his crimes?

What had Akira said about Makoto and Yusuke? That he didn’t blame them at all for some of the bad things they had done, because they were being used by selfish adults? That the adults were the real culprits, and Makoto and Yusuke were just victims too? Could… Could the same be true for him?

He had done horrible things, he knew that, but along the way it was like he forgot that he was doing it because of Shido. Instead, he had just been entirely blaming himself this whole time. It was funny, usually blaming Shido for everything was so easy… But it turned out that blaming and hating himself was even easier.

Shido kept on talking, saying that he would confess everything, that he wanted to be judged for what he had done. Akechi could feel his eyes fill with tears as the signal was cut out. He couldn’t tell why he was crying, his heart was too full of too many different emotions to tell what was what at the moment. He didn’t know what to do with himself, but he knew there was somewhere he had to be, so, he ran off to catch a train to Yongen.

He walked into Leblanc as they were all giving a toast, their glasses high in the air. It took a moment for any of them to realize that the bell above the door had rung at all. Sae was the first to notice, turning her head and looking shocked. She looked to the others, as if she was warning them. Maybe he shouldn’t have come after all.

“Um, I just happened to be in the area, and Akira invited me so I-” He muttered, his voice trailing off. He should just leave. They obviously didn’t want him here. This was a horrible idea.

Akira ran forward and nearly tackled him with a hug. “You came!”

“Uh, it’s complicated.” Ryuji said to Sae. “But basically, Akechi’s good, everything’s fine, don’t worry?”

“You don’t sound very confident.”

“Akira trusts him.” Ryuji muttered with a shrug.

“You all really did it… You really changed his heart.” Akechi said. “Thank you.”

“Of course! Now c’mon, let’s celebrate!” Akira said and pulled him over to a table. “We all earned this.”


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there are. minor spoilers for one of the new NES games they added in persona 5 royal, featherman seeker.  
> cuz like. you cant tell me that wasnt about akechi.

“This, uh, still feels awkward for all of us, doesn’t it?” Makoto was the one to break the silence that had been filling the room since Sae left.

“Yes, perhaps it was a mistake for me to come.” Akechi muttered, standing up and brushing some hair behind his ear. “Clearly, Akira is the only one who trusts me. And frankly, I don’t blame any of you. It’s rather stupid of him to trust me at all.”

Akira rolled his eyes and grabbed Akechi’s hand, causing him to stiffen slightly. “Sit back down okay? Just because things aren’t how you hoped they’d be immediately doesn’t mean it’s all a bust.”

“Also also, I kinda half trust you! So you’ve got one and a half.” Futaba chimed in. “Hey, maybe we could do what we did for me?”

Akechi raised an eyebrow. Did they not trust Futaba at first? He tried not to be immediately angry at them. How could they not trust her?

“Like how we worked with getting you more comfortable with people?” Ann asked, and Futaba nodded. Oh. Perhaps it was wrong of him to immediately assume the worst. Also, he still wasn’t sure how to feel about how protective he felt of Futaba.

“You all had a day with me to get me more used to everything. Maybe all of us need an Akechi day, to trust each other more!”

“I hate this idea, I just want to stress that.” Akechi said. Akira he could be around, Futaba he could occasionally be near without hating himself, but the rest of them? He could feel a migraine coming on.

“I think that’s a good way to go about it.” Yusuke nodded. “I have no objections.”

“I do though. This sounds like a terrible idea.” Akechi said through clenched teeth.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t like it either at first.” Futaba said. “But, it helps!”

“I also dunno if this is a good idea but, if everyone else thinks so…” Ryuji shrugged. Yes, it did seem that Ryuji was the one who trusted him the least, so it only made sense he would oppose the idea.

“Then it’s unanimous.” Akira said with a smile.

“Do you know what the word unanimous means?” Akechi tried not to have his voice come out as an angry hiss. He failed.

“I’ll take the first day. Gotta start with easy mode after all.” Futaba said. “So, you’re coming over tomorrow Akechi!”

“I will not.”

Akira gently squeezed his hand and looked up at him with large pleading eyes. He looked like he was about to cry.

“...Fine.” Akechi huffed. Akira’s expression changed to a mischievous smirk.

“Knew that would work on you.”

“Shut up or I’m leaving.”

Goro Akechi sat uncomfortably on Futaba’s bed. He kept glancing around her room, observing all of the figures that she had on her shelves. There were several Featherman figures on one shelf, all posed together. He tried not to feel jealous. That would be such a childish and stupid thing to be jealous about.

“Why do ya keep staring at them Pigeon?”

“What did you just call me?”

“Pigeon!” She laughed. “Like Gray Pigeon. Ya know, Feathermen.”

“...I don’t believe he counts as a Featherman.”

She gasped, sounding so offended. “How dare you!” She said. “Wait, you know about Gray Pigeon? Did you play Feather Seeker?”

He felt his face heat up. “Yes. It was… a long time ago.”

“Did you beat it?!”

“Yes.”

“Then how could you say Gray Pigeon isn’t a Featherman?! He saved them, even if he had to sacrifice himself!”  
“He was still a villain!” He sound it louder than he meant to, angrier too. He felt like he wasn’t talking about a fun game anymore. It was… something deeper than that to him.

“...I just called you Gray Pigeon cuz, you remind me of him, like a lot! You sacrificed yourself to save us, even though you were a bad guy.” She did finger quotes around “bad guy.”

“Why the air quotes?”  
“Well, cuz you’re not really a bad guy.” She said. He raised an eyebrow. “Listen, I don’t really blame you for what happened with my mom. I blame Shido for that! So, we already avenged my mom.”

“But-”

“It was two years ago, you were fifteen. And, you were dealing with a lot of trauma and stuff! He used you.”

“But I came to him!”

“That doesn’t make it your fault. That doesn’t mean he didn’t use you.”

Akechi sighed and stared at the ceiling. He was tired of talking about this. It was just… easier to think of himself as a villain.

“Do you wanna play some video games?” She asked after a bit of silence. “I’ve got some good stuff on my PC.”

“Okay.”

“Awesome! Let’s play something competitive, you seem like you’d like that more.” She said with a giggle. He rolled his eyes in response.

The next day was with Ann Takamaki. He couldn’t say he knew her that well at all. But, she didn’t seem to dislike him, so that was a good start. The two of them were sitting at a table in Leblanc, Ann was twirling some hair around her finger.

“Maaan, I really don’t know what we should do together! I dunno what we’d both like!” She sighed. “Do you like shopping?”

“Not particularly.”

“Aw, I was hoping we could go together. It’d give me an excuse to go to that crepe stand…”

“Crepe?” He tried not to sound… too excited. “Well, if were were to go to a crepe stand…”

“Ooo, you like sweets, don’t you?” She sounded as excited as he had originally felt. “I know what we’re doing then!” She stood up and grabbed his hand.

“Wh-what are we doing? Just going to that stand?”

“Nope! We’re going to all my favorite places to get sweets! Let’s get going!” She smiled wide as she pulled him along.

They went to place after place, trying out crepes, ice cream, donuts, mont blancs, and dorayaki.

“Wow, I think this is the happiest I’ve ever seen you.”

“I-I’ve never had dorayaki before…” He wasn’t thinking about appearances right now, and it was obvious. His eyes were wide with childlike glee. “I mean, I’ve always liked pancakes, but I’ve never had them like this!”

Ann gave a smirk. “Would you say it’s  _ delicious _ ?” She then laughed at the glare he shot her.

“Shut up.” He huffed and took another bite.

“You knoooow…” She drummed her long nails on the table. “I think you kinda owe me one for buying you all these sweets.”

“I knew you’d want something out of this.”

“Not much! Just carry my bags while I go shopping!”

“Something tells me you have more bags than the average person.”

“Aw c’mon, I’ll buy you something too!”

He sighed. “Fine. But only because this was so good.” He said as he finished his dorayaki.

“Yay! Now c’mon, while we were walking here I saw a scarf in a display window that would look so cute on you.”

He couldn’t help but smile as she followed her. It was unusual to hang out with someone in such a… normal way. But, he didn’t dislike it. Not at all.


	32. Chapter 32

Goro Akechi once again found himself in Leblanc, sitting across from a Phantom Thief, neither of them sure what to do. The only difference was who he sat across from. Today was Yusuke Kitagawa, who was quietly staring at that painting that hung on the wall. Honestly, Akechi would be fine just sitting here in silence and drinking coffee, well… for the most part. He didn’t like that painting. He hoped that it wasn’t too obvious that he was avoiding looking at it.

“What do you think of The Sayuri?” Yusuke asked, tilting his head slightly in its direction. Akechi’s gut instinct was to lie, to say that he thought it was a lovely painting. But, this whole thing was about the Phantom Thieves learning to trust him, could they really do that if he were to lie?

“I don’t like it.” Akechi said before taking a sip of his coffee. Yusuke looked shocked and genuinely hurt.

“May I ask why not?”

He sighed and thought for a moment, why exactly was it that he disliked it so much? By all accounts, nothing was wrong with the painting itself. Just a painting of a mother and child. Akechi’s grip on his cup tightened, and he clenched his jaw. Ah, that was why.

“It… brings up memories that are a bit hard to think about.” He muttered. Yusuke’s look of pain was replaced with one of understanding, and he gave a small nod.

“It is a similar case for me.”

“Then why do you keep staring at it?”

“Because I want to remember it. It’s painful yes, but it’s not only that. It’s bittersweet.” He said. “I can’t let those good memories be taken from me by that pain. I’m trying to accept them both. Though, I will admit, it’s not always easy.”

Akechi wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He felt like Yusuke understood his situation better than most others, and he didn’t like that. “It’s a lot easier just to look at the painful ones. To just… hate it. Hate every bad thing.”

Yusuke let out a small laugh. “I can’t deny that. It would be a lot less work. And it’s hard to know if I should sometimes. Truly, I don’t know if I should forgive some of the things that I do. I don’t know if he deserves it. I don’t know if he cared for me at all…” He spoke softly and shook his head. “And yet, this is the path that I am choosing to take. Because, even if he didn’t care for me at all, some of what he said and did is still important to me, and I won’t give that up.”

“I must seem like a failure then.” Akechi said.

“No. You weren’t failing at taking this path, you were just taking a different one. Though, I do wish you would’ve taken one that was better for you.” He said. “Believe me, I understand how you feel. But, I hope you’ll at least consider trying out something different. Letting go of some of your anger and hate can be quite freeing. Not all of it of course, we’d hardly be Phantom Thieves if we let go of all of our anger at the world.”

Akechi turned to look at The Sayuri, allowing himself to truly see it, and not look away.

“Despite everything Shido did, I still cared what he thought about me. I don’t know why.” He didn’t mean to say it, the words just came out on their own. “Whenever he’d say I did a good job, I’d be happy, even though I hated him.”

“Akechi.” Yusuke said. “I think you just needed to hear it from anyone. So, allow me to say, you’re doing a good job.”

“Nijima-san.”

“Akechi-kun.”

It wasn’t the first time the two had interacted outside of Phantom Thief business, but somehow it still felt more stilted and awkward than his interactions with other Phantom Thieves. Perhaps it was because they knew each other for longer? Makoto was more used to his Detective Prince act, and Akechi still felt the need to act that way around her.

“Do you have any plan for what we should do today?” He asked.

“I had an idea, though I’m not entirely sure of it.” She said. “Trivia.”

“Well I think that’s a great-”

“We’d be on a team together. Cooperating, not competing.” She clarified.

“Oh.” He was surprised. He and Makoto could both be quite competitive people, so he would have thought she would lean into that.

“I think it will be more useful if we can learn to work together, rather than trying to one up each other.”

“Yes, that makes perfect sense. Good idea Nijima-san.”

She sighed. “Why do you only do this act around me? You’ve dropped it with almost everyone else.”

“Well, I suppose it’s because I’m more used to it with you. Also because you’re Sae-san’s sister.”

“Yes but, we’re teammates. So, could you try and treat me a bit more like everyone else?”

“I… I’ll try.”

The two of them went to a nearby restaurant that was having a trivia night, multiple teams competing.

“Hm, these other teams look quite skilled.” Makoto said, looking slightly nervous. Akechi rolled his eyes.

“They’re nothing. We’ll crush them.” Maybe he was getting into this a bit too quickly.

The end of the event came quickly, and the results weren’t a surprise to Akechi at all.

“We worked well together Akechi-kun!” Makoto said with a happy smile.

“Well, they were all clearly inferior.” He said. Makoto crossed her arms, obviously not wanting him to talk about other people like that. He sighed. “Yes we worked very hard and so did everyone else. Happy?”

“Yes. It’s nice to see your competitiveness channeled into something like this.”

“I’m not  _ that _ competitive.”

She laughed and shook her head. “Do you even hear yourself sometimes?”


End file.
